The Infinite Theory of Us
by future-fangirl
Summary: A long time ago Wyatt Logan believed that if you loved enough and fought hard enough anything was possible. That there was a law that "us" meant something. Then Jessica died. And Lucy was erased from the team after their trip to save Kennedy. He stopped believing in that theory. But when you control time anything is possible. Including saving Lucy Preston from Rittenhouse.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I'm not sure how many parts this story will have. I've loosely plotted the story out but it morphed from a one-shot into something way longer. It's mostly in Wyatt's POV though that might change later in the story. Lucy won't come into the picture for a little while but that's good. It allows Wyatt to get his life together on his own. Also, Jessica is not Rittenhouse. She's just a normal person. I'm not sure about my posting schedule but I'll try to release it as quickly as possible. I hope to incorporate some actual UCLA trivia because Lucy actually went to school there. I'm a history major so I just based the classes she teaches off of classes I see at my university.**

They had just gotten off of a successful mission back from 1936 where they had thwarted an attempt on the young John Kennedy. Wyatt knew he would have the whole thing with Lucy and Jessica to deal with but he was hoping that he could manage the whole situation without majorly messing it up. He was a mess right now. Lucy was sick with a fever after that knife had cut her in the 18th century and they had to go without her. It had been one of the hardest things to do. Leaving her behind. She was extremely ill apparently but he had tried to hide his extreme terror. Jessica couldn't find out he had feelings for his coworker. So he had skulked around in the shadows and Jiya had taken pity on him and given him messages. Flynn had been there fairly frequently as well. Wyatt felt the blinding envy every moment he saw Flynn glance at Lucy's room. He was a little annoyed Lucy hadn't told him the Mothership jumped. Then again it would have ended any hope of reconciling with Jessica. He wasn't sure what he wanted anymore.

The mission had nearly ended in disaster. But fortunately, they had managed to hide John long enough for them to kill the sleeper cells and return him to his school. Wyatt only hoped the huge problem in the bunker would be just as easy to solve.

"How's Lucy?" he asked as they stepped off the Lifeboat.

"Lucy?" Denise looked puzzled and he turned to Jiya who looked equally confused. "Who's Lucy?"

 _Oh no. No, No, No!_ Something disastrous had happened to the timeline. Something so bad that Lucy was…gone. Had she been erased from history like her sister? Had she had something happen in the past that meant she was no longer alive. The feeling of shock and pain settled itself somewhere between his ribs making him feel like throwing up. But there wasn't time. They had to do something.

"Don't you know her? Clumsy, dark-haired, a history professor." Flynn said.

"Of course you guys know her." Rufus looked at Jiya for confirmation.

"Historian? We have a historian. But her name isn't Lucy. It's Cynthia. Cynthia Maxwell. She's been with you since the missions began. She got injured in Salam so she didn't go with." Denise said.

"What the hell?" Wyatt swore as he considered exactly what kind of crazy thing had happened to the timeline. They needed to fix it. How to do it was the hard part.

"What kind of damage did you boys do now?" He turned to see a short, spiky-haired woman limp into the room. He had never seen her in his life. She was as different from Lucy as two people could be.

"Besides erasing a member of our team nothing," Wyatt said.

Cynthia stepped forward. "What do you mean? There isn't anyone missing."

"Lucy is missing. She was our historian." Rufus said.

"Well, that's fucked up. In my timeline, I've been working since the missions began and we were chasing Tall, Dark and Dangerous. He's apparently decided to stop shooting at us." Cynthia motioned to Flynn and then shrugged. "Who's this Lucy?"

"Lucy Preston. She was a professor at Stanford. Wrote a book on Lincoln." Wyatt thought about her book. When he had read it he had marveled at her incredible brilliance. Her ability to understand people and make history interesting. Lucy's existence was essential to him. He didn't want to live in a world where she wasn't in it. Now apparently he had to. At least until he figured out how to change things back.

"Oh…yeah. I think I know who you mean. But she works at UCLA, not Stanford. And she's never been on the team. The history community isn't that big and we have similar interests. So yeah, I think she's like alive." Cynthia pulled out her phone. "Yes, she's working for UCLA. Head of the Public History Initiative, teaching two classes. The classes are 'History 148B: Memory and Public Consciousness in WWII' and 'History 97C: Sex and the Body in the Victorian Age'." She's written two books. The one on Lincoln and a book about teaching history and memories of the past."

Lucy was alive. A totally different person but she was alive. A feeling of relief filled him. But they didn't know each other. Lucy wasn't on the team. She remembered nothing. Not of every single mission, or of every moment of danger or of every smile and laugh. She didn't remember Hollywoodland or Hedy Lemarr or anything. She didn't remember him. It hurt like a weird phantom pain. The pain of losing someone so precious. How had he discounted her? Somehow this was his fault. Maybe if he hadn't let the team down he would have been there in Salem and Lucy wouldn't have been hurt. Then she would have gone on the Lifeboat and the timeline wouldn't have changed.

He went back to his bunk. Jessica was there on her computer and she said, "How'd the mission go?"

He couldn't tell her about Lucy. Because he would look totally crazy and because she would know that Lucy wasn't just a team member the minute he started talking. Maybe it was for the best. Lucy was probably a whole lot happier working in the classroom than she would have been stuck in this bunker. Maybe she had some guy, much better than him, and she might be happy. The thought made him sick. But he couldn't undo the damage done because you could never revisit the past where you were. He'd have to figure out some other way.

"I don't know. Some weird stuff happened." Wyatt picked up his own computer and googled "Lucy Preston". He saw a link to a rating site for professors and clicked the link. Lucy's face popped up on the screen. She looked exactly the same. Her smile was bright and her eyes sparkled. She looked happy. He read down the list of reviews. Most people loved her classes. Some thought she was too hard. It was so essentially Lucy. All of it.

He checked Facebook and found her profile which was apparently set to public. Either that or his Facebook friendship with the new member of their team meant they were mutuals. He scrolled down her feed. Pictures of her food, photos of her with friends, and the occasional news article. He noticed that Amy was back. Amy was back. How could he disturb the timeline and go back to a world where Lucy didn't have her sister? Was this Lucy Rittenhouse? He noticed that she had written that her mother had died a year before. Somehow someone had reverted Lucy back to her original timeline. The one where Amy was alive and her mother was dying. Somehow he felt that her mother dying was better than finding out the truth. Maybe Carol hadn't been so bad in the original timeline.

How could he go to this stranger and say, "Oh by the way? I'm the guy you traveled through time with and we totally banged in 1941 and had a two-day relationship before my formally dead wife came back and you two were stuck in an underground bunker together. And your mother is evil and your sister doesn't exist." It was impossible. He wouldn't turn back the timeline. Lucy needed her sister. She needed the happiness that she had clearly found. She didn't need him. Not this Lucy.

The only other people who remembered Lucy were Rufus and Flynn. Wyatt left to find Rufus who was looking shaken and trying to explain Lucy to Jiya. "We can't turn back the timeline."

"Why?" Rufus said. His eyes said that there was something suspicious about it. Something suspicious about Wyatt's motives. Wyatt had to admit that his friend was probably justified in doubting him. He was a fool.

"Amy's back. And her mother died but there is no evidence she was active in Rittenhouse. She's got a good life." Wyatt swallowed hard. This was for the best. It was the best for Lucy. She deserved so much happiness.

"What? Amy's back." Rufus grabbed the phone and stared down at the picture of the two of them together. Lucy and Amy smiling and laughing at each other at podcasting convention.

"Maybe you're right," Rufus confessed. "She looks happy. If anyone deserves it then she does. Besides, it's probably better than this Hotel California."

Wyatt tried to laugh but he couldn't. The pain had settled itself into his stomach making him feel worse than when he got food poisoning from old Chinese food. He looked up from his phone and the picture of Lucy to find Flynn listening on the couch. Of course. He would hear everything. Flynn looked none too pleased about this development. Wyatt wondered why. Once all this was over Flynn was free to go find Lucy and seduce her with his brooding looks and creepy "I have read your journal and know all about you." Wyatt wasn't sure what made him sicker. The fact that Flynn would probably succeed since this Lucy didn't know Flynn's past or that Lucy was probably already dating some guy like Noah. Wyatt hoped that whoever he was he was better than Flynn or Noah or any other guy. Wyatt didn't know a single guy good enough for Lucy Preston. Somehow he had started to believe that maybe there was something in long odds and second chances. Clearly, that wasn't the case. Time was constantly changing. Nothing in this whole world was secure and stable. Not Lucy. Somehow he'd have to learn to live in a world where Lucy Preston was a stranger.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Summary: Jessica and Wyatt try to figure out their marriage, Wyatt finds out more about Lucy's journal and has a talk with Rufus.**

"Wyatt?" Jessica said as he sat down beside her on the couch. They were watching _This is Us_ which was apparently Jessica's favorite show. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Are you ok?" she sounded sad again. Wyatt hated that sound. It reminded him of all the bad things he had done.

"Yeah, just tired." That was true. Emma had led them on a merry chase through the streets of Paris in 1870 as she sought to dissolve the fledgling Third Republic. Fortunately, they had taken out her sleeper agent before they bombed the meeting place and instituted chaos. It had been a particularly difficult mission. That wasn't the reason he felt undescribably like crying.

Jiya and Rufus had also been watching but disappeared awhile ago supposedly to sleep. But judging from the sly glances they cast at each other more than sleep was going on. Wyatt was glad his friends had each other. If anyone deserved happiness those two did. Sometimes it brought back memories of Lucy. Of that night in 1941 and then he'd go down a rabbit hole of memory and fantasy that left him feeling absolutely gutted with guilt and frustration.

Sometimes he felt like Jessica was a stranger. He was a different person around her. Maybe because he hadn't really known her. They had gotten married so young and Wyatt back then had just shoved all the anger from childhood down and pretended everything was fine. Then he had been gone most of the time. The few times he was with Jessica they had spent so much time arguing. He had forgotten that when she was "dead". He didn't really "know" Jessica because he had spent so much time thinking that he knew her. He had made her into some sort of angel when the real woman was just too complicated to be called anything but a regular person.

Things with Jessica weren't good. He was mourning a woman that he had never met in this timeline. It was impossible to be fully present with Jessica when he was trying not to think of Lucy Preston and Hollywoodland and her smile when she got excited. His Lucy. No, he couldn't think like that. She wasn't his. He was married. He ought to be glad that this had happened. Lucy didn't feel upset about any of this. She didn't even know him. She had her sister and her life and was happy. They didn't fight. That would imply they actually cared about each other's opinions. Instead, they were polite and he kept apologizing for the bunker and Jessica kept saying it was fine. It was just like visiting your great aunt and telling her that a room occasionally infested with bats was fine. Somehow Jessica was a stranger in her once familiar body.

"I don't understand. You're so distant. It's like when I talk you're a million miles away." Jessica shook her head and glared at him.

"What?" he asked. They actually hadn't been fighting. But he had been thinking of Lucy and how she would have dealt with the last mission. Cynthia was fine. She knew her stuff and she was tough and street savvy. But she wasn't Lucy. She never would be. She was an interloper on the team and everyone felt it. Rufus cracked jokes with her but he didn't have the same brotherly warmth that he had with Lucy. Flynn seemed to get along the best with her but he hadn't known Lucy as well as he had. Wyatt resented Cynthia. Every moment he saw her sitting across from him he felt like she had stolen Lucy away. It wasn't fair to Cynthia. But he didn't care.

"I just… this whole mission thing." Wyatt shrugged but Jessica frowned.

"If I didn't know you were trapped in an underground bunker I would think there was another woman. But the only other person besides Jiya, who isn't the type, is Cynthia and somehow I don't think so."

"Cynthia?" he laughed. "How can you think about this?"

"Because you aren't here. Your body is here but your mind is a million miles away."

"I promise I'll do better. I promise I'll be home more." That was kind of hard to promise considering they were basing everything off of Emma's schedule.

Jessica shook her head. "I can't do this. We…We just aren't working."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't really want this any more than I do. You just aren't here. I mean at least we'll part on good terms. I'm not mad anymore. I just know you have demons to fight and I can't help you."

Wyatt glanced at Jessica and saw she looked sad and pensive. All the fight had drained out of her. Somehow it was more depressing to think that at the end of it all their once good marriage had died with a whimper. There wasn't much to salvage was there? Just memories. And memories weren't the best foundation when the present was a mess. He could fight for Jessica. Fight for her to stay. But Jessica wasn't happy. He wasn't happy. Sometimes you had to make the decision to give up what wasn't working in order to make things better. At least Jessica was alive and she had a chance at happiness. She had a chance to move on with her life without being trapped in an underground bunker.

"Ok, I'll sign the papers." He said. Jessica looked surprised. She had expected a fight. But what was there to fight for? Some voice in his head reminded him that he would have fought harder for Lucy Preston. But it didn't matter, did it? Because he hadn't fought for Lucy either.

He had expected to feel more when he finally signed those papers and Jessica left the bunker. He just felt numb. Even though he knew his marriage with Jessica hadn't been as perfect as he had thought somehow he had believed he could make it work. But too many years, and one Lucy Preston later, they had changed too much. He thought of her constantly, trying to fight the urge to go find her. What could he say? What would a high-level professor at a great university want to do with a boy from Texas who now spent most of his time traveling through time-fighting a terrorist organization? Lucy had the life she had always wanted. A not creepy but dead mother, her sister Amy and a good job.

"So when are you going to go after her?" Wyatt glanced up as he swirled the whiskey in the bottle he had been drinking. He wasn't drunk, not yet but he was in a state where seeing Garcia Flynn was not exactly a welcome surprise. Not that it was ever welcome. Cynthia was ok but he and Rufus still had real trouble trusting Flynn.

"What? Who?" he asked.

"Lucy Preston. She's destined to be on the team. The sooner we get her on the team…"

"The sooner she'll write her damn journal that she'll give to you. But I'm pretty sure that timeline is already shot to hell. She's not going to write in the journal." Wyatt replied. "Besides why on earth would she agree to join the team?"

"They managed to convince her the first time," Flynn said.

"Well, if you're so worried about it go yourself," Wyatt replied. The truth was that if Flynn dared to do it he'd probably punch him/.

"I would. But somehow I don't think she'll believe me. I have the tendency she'll be calling security and I'll end up arrested again. Besides Christopher won't let me out of this damn bunker." Flynn shrugged and then continued, "She has to be on the team. If she doesn't then all of this will fall apart."

"I don't understand. We've made it so far. Lucy doesn't need to get dragged in again. She gets to keep Amy."

"Because she's the one who set this whole thing off. It was two weeks after my family died three years ago. I was drinking in a bar in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Then she walked in. I think she was probably about five or ten years into the future and she looked...disheveled. Like everything in life had collapsed. She gave me the journal. I read it at first because I was curious and drunk. I thought it was the ranting of a crazy woman. Then things she said started coming true. Mason built a time machine. World events she talks about came true. Lucy started this whole thing."

"That's not possible. You can't travel back on your timeline." Wyatt said.

" I'm not sure how she did. But she did. Perhaps Rufus and Jiya found a way to do it. What I'm saying is she has to come here. She needs to join the team. So someday she can write the journal and come back and give it to me."

If anyone in the world had a story in which a random older woman in a bar gave a journal to a guy who just lost his family and it somehow inspired a career as a time bandit it would be Flynn. The story sounded so outrageous it was probably true. Wyatt longed to see Lucy, just to see her even though she wouldn't know him. But he didn't know how to go about it. She wouldn't know him. Their strange and complicated history didn't exist.

Time went on. More missions. Denise and Mason kept watching as they went out again and again. It was exhausting and depressing. He and Rufus talked about Lucy. They reminisced about memories only they knew. When it was all said and done Lucy Preston had been his best friend (apart from Rufus who was also his best friend). They talked about how she was so clumsy and how her face lit up when she met her favorite historical figures. They talked about how damn brave she was for facing the idea of a suicide mission on the Mothership. They talked about all the missions that the current timeline had dissolved.

"So, how are things with Jiya?" Wyatt asked. Things had been a little tense a few months back right after Jessica left the bunker. Apparently, Jiya was seeing visions of Rufus's death. Wyatt didn't take much stock in them. But Rufus did. Because he had seen the man in Salem die after Jiya had said it would happen.

"Better. I mean it isn't her fault. And I guess, well, if I die then at least I want to go out kicking and screaming. Cowboys are better than cancer or something." Rufus tried to smile but Wyatt could see he wasn't as casual as he appeared.

"You aren't gonna die. You hear me? Any cowboy missions we are strictly leaving you behind. Ok?" Wyatt said.

"Well, ok. But her visions always come true. Don't know if I can outrun them." Rufus sighed. "You know this is so weird. Cause if my mom talked about visions I'd just roll my eyes. But now I'm like, maybe this whole weird seeing the future thing is real."

"I used to believe in fate. But now I don't. It all comes down to choices and pure luck." Wyatt thought about how quickly Lucy had been erased from the team.

The beeping of the alarm sounded in the Bunker. Emma had jumped.

"Well, back in business," Rufus said with a smile. "I really hope there are no cowboys."

 **Author's Note: Wow! That finale was pretty crazy. I couldn't post anything because I was frankly reeling. I must admit I'm not very happy with the way the writers were portraying Wyatt. I thought in Ep. 9 they went way too far in portraying him as obsessed with Jessica and trying to defend her. It made his confession of love to Lucy seem less real. I do believe it is but it felt a little fake even to me. And don't get me started on the next love triangle they are totally starting. I hate love triangles. There will be no love triangles in this story (except for the Jessica/Wyatt/Lucy internal stuff).**

 **I now have totally revised my ideas for the future of this story based off of Future!Lyatt. I'm honestly not sure if I can make this Lucy into that Lucy. Because she didn't go through all that horrible stuff. But she also has her own past. So who knows? But if I can sneak that Lucy in I'm totally going to. I have a few ideas.**

 **I got rid of the Jessica/Wyatt stuff as soon as possible. I'll be honest that I really dislike canon Jessica now. I really liked her at first. So it's hard to write her sympathetically when I see her stealing Jiya. And Flynn and Wyatt have a somewhat normal conversation. Flynn tells Wyatt about the journal because Lucy isn't here. I'm assuming his story about the bar in Brazil was the truth. I think it was. It sounds like such a dramatic story that it had to have happened to Flynn. I love the Rufus and Wyatt conversation because they both miss Lucy and her friendship so much. Also, Rufus gets a chance to talk about his fears over Jiya's visions.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Summary: In which the Mothership jumps to an unexpected place and they develop new technology in time travel.**

He and Rufus made their way into the common room as Cynthia rolled her eyes as she came up to them, "Why does that damn woman have to pick three in the morning to jump?"

"She's gone to September 4th, 2002. Near Big Bear." Jiya said.

"That's not possible. All of us were alive then." Rufus said.

"They must have figured out a way to travel on their own timeline," Connor said.

"We were working on it but so far it's been unsuccessful. That or they are sending their agents on suicide missions."

"What do you mean?" asked Flynn.

"They can set the Mothership on autopilot and send the agents back. They can complete their mission and then the Mothership will automatically go back at the set time. Also if you don't leave the Mothership it's possible the harmful effects will not appear." Connor replied.

"Well, who's volunteering as tribute," said Cynthia with mock humor.

"We can't follow them," Denise announced. "We simply don't have the technology." "Actually, we are working on it. We have just completed a final calculation on a shield we can apply to the Lifeboat to allow you to travel back on your timeline. The problem is that so far we can't work it so that people can leave the Lifeboat. I have created something called a force field which is actually portable. If the force field is enacted you are basically placed in another artificial time. Problem is that it acts like a bubble. It makes it impossible to move outside of it. So you couldn't shoot a gun for instance without having the bullet bounce back. That being said you couldn't get shot." Jiya said. "So what's the point of using it if you are stuck in some bubble?" Wyatt asked.

"Well, if you were to disable it for short sections of time it would be enough to probably save your life," Connor said.

"Great. The odds are definitely in our favor." Flynn said ironically.

"Maybe what they are trying to do isn't that important," Cynthia said.

"Where's the exact location again?" Wyatt asked. There was something familiar about it. "September 4th, 2002 near Big Bear, California," Jiya said.

"I knew it. I knew it. We have to go back." Wyatt said.

"Why? Nothing important historically occurred there." Cynthia said.

"That's where Lucy almost died. She was driving home from school and prepared to tell her mother she was leaving school to join a music band. She drove off the road and into the lake. She only survived because some guy saved her life. That's when she decided to follow her mother's plan and become a historian." Wyatt said.

"That explains it," Flynn remarked.

"What?"

"Why she was so afraid of water. She wrote about it."

Wyatt couldn't help the small surge of triumph that he knew something about Lucy that Flynn didn't. Sometimes his constant knowledge of Lucy's past and present made him feel like the interloper. It sometimes made him wonder if there was some sort of fate about it.

"No offense, but why are we risking our lives for some woman who we don't even know. Who isn't on the team?" Cynthia said.

"If Rittenhouse is interested there has to be a reason. Also, Lucy started all of this." Wyatt said.

"What do you mean?" Denise looked up.

"She gave me the journal. The one that set me on the path of fighting Rittenhouse. Without that journal, I never would have done it. And then there would be no Time Team or anything."

"Don't flatter yourself, Flynn," Denise replied.

"I'm sure we would have figured it out without your interference."

"Would you? You weren't exactly doing a stunning job of it."

"The point is that we have to do this. Or everything we have been fighting for will disappear." Wyatt looked at Rufus who nodded. Rufus was willing to help Lucy anyway. But no one would agree if the reason posed was personal.

"We only have two force fields so it will have to be me and Wyatt," Rufus said.

"If this works it will change the way that we do time travel. The possibilities are endless," said Connor.

"And if it doesn't?" asked Jiya.

"You and I will be promoted," Flynn said.

"Rufus, you can't. I won't let you do this." Jiya glared at Flynn and glanced at Rufus.

"If there is an autopilot function maybe I can manage it on my own," Wyatt said. The truth was the kinda mumbo jumbo scientific stuff Rufus did was enough to give him a headache. But if he could figure it out enough to make it?

"No, I'll go," Rufus said. "Jiya's been having visions of my death and she said I get killed by cowboys so hey I think this will work."

"I didn't mean that it would happen literally," Jiya said.

It felt eerily like the time he had stolen the Lifeboat to save Jessica. This time he wasn't propelled by grief or guilt. He was saving Lucy because he wanted her to live. Because somehow they had been destined to play this part. And he was going to do it. Rufus was going to do it. It didn't matter that Lucy wouldn't know what random stranger had saved her life. It was enough to know that Lucy was alive and happy in her life.

The force field was tested as Rufus turned on the Lifeboat. When it was on there was a weird bubble-like quality to the air as if it crackled with light. There was an occasional shiny spot that Connor called a chink because it resembled a chink in the armor. When Wyatt strapped the portable force field to his body he felt a weird electrical current surrounding his body.

"Wow," said Jiya. "You look like you are surrounded by shiny mist."

Rufus struck an imaginary pose and said, "So you're saying I look like some sort of angel."

Jiya laughed and shook her head, "A weird nerdy angel."

She tried to hug him but her arms touched air and she started back, "Ouch. It's like getting sparked."

Rufus turned his off and pulled Jiya close, "Hey, don't freak out. I'm force sensitive now so I can die happy."

"Don't you dare talk like that." Jiya glared at him.

Wyatt let them have their moment and went back to his room. There was no one to say goodbye to. Jessica was still his friend but she didn't need to worry he was going to die. The last thing she needed was more worry. She needed to move on with her life and stop worrying about him. Most of his old friends were gone. Lucy was gone. He'd say goodbye to the rest of the team.

He stepped out and suddenly Agent Christopher stood there. Her normally calm face looked alarmed as she said, "Are you sure you want to try this? We can technically go back later. Once we have tested this device more."

"No, there is no telling what it will do to the timeline. Plus we might as well know now. If this thing works." She gave him a hug then.

It was weird because Agent Christopher hugged Jiya and Lucy and even Rufus but never him. He felt a little like his mother was back and giving him a hug. Tears started to his eyes as he thought of how Agent Christopher hadn't court-martialed him. She might give him a stern talking to and she might threaten but she had never turned her back on him. "Stay safe. I don't want to have to send Jiya and Flynn into the past together." Denise gave a little smile. He went back into the common room and found that the rest were waiting. Jiya ran over and gave him a big hug herself. Jiya was the closest thing to a little sister he had. Once or twice she had been on a mission and she was absolutely enthusiastic and surprisingly good at blending in. That nerdy glasses wearing girl had grown a lot.

"Hey, Lucy is supposed to be my best friend in the alternate timeline so save her," Jiya said earnestly.

" Any last pieces of advice? Considering you did all the calculations." Wyatt asked.

"Stay alive." Jiya grinned. Wyatt rolled his eyes. Everyone in this damn bunker was so nerdy.

"You ready?" He asked Rufus. "Yes, I'm not going to die today. No cowboys in 2002. Plus I'll be chilling my heels in the Lifeboat." Rufus stepped into the Lifeboat.

 **Author's Note: Ok, I know that the tech for traveling along your own timeline probably doesn't emerge for a few years. But I'm going to say it does so earlier for the purpose of this story. Plus as you can imagine this particular prototype isn't very advanced. Future!lyatt clearly has an upgraded model. I believe that they must be wearing some sort of cloaking device. Otherwise, they would die when they went back on their timeline. This one is pretty clunky so it would be difficult to complete a mission. For instance, they'd have to work with it so that they can operate a weapon. I know I'm breaking the rules of time travel a bit. The idea of a force field came from the Hunger Games as did several references sprinkled through. I had some fun with the pop culture references lol. I like the scenes between Jiya and Wyatt and Agent C and Wyatt. They are taking care of their family. Also, Riya scenes because they are precious and adorable. They love each other so much.**

 **I actually don't believe Rittenhouse has the ability to travel back on their own timeline. They are sending child agents with the Mothership set on autopilot or trains them in rudimentary skills. Rittenhouse indoctrinates children so the idea of them using the equivalent of child soldiers doesn't seem at all unusual. I don't believe for one moment Emma is the only pilot. I think she just makes sure all the other pilots are children or sufficiently scared of her. More than likely the Mothership has a remote control option so if someone stole the Mothership she could stop them. The fact that Team Time has the ability to travel back on their timeline is very important. It will give them a big advantage to Rittenhouse. They just have to work on the technology.**

 **Next chapter we'll get the daring rescue of Lucy and Lyatt will meet for the first time in this timeline. And someone will finally admit their feelings.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Summary: In which Wyatt executes a daring rescue and finds a new historian.**

"You love her, still?" Rufus said.

Wyatt glanced up. For once Rufus was serious. He shrugged and then nodded. Rufus simply turned to the controls. He handed Wyatt a device and showed him how to switch it on and off. Wyatt only hoped it worked and if it didn't their deaths wouldn't be too painful. Maybe wishing for a bullet in the brain would be easier.

"Well, here's to hoping that our sciencing the shit out of things works," Rufus said. Wyatt couldn't laugh.

At least they arrived in one piece. The shield seemed to work at least that much. "You stay in the Lifeboat. If I don't get back in an hour take the boat back."

"Ok. Listen, no being an idiot. I know you feel like there isn't much left but I'm not going on missions alone with Cynthia and Flynn." Wyatt knew Rufus was saying that he wasn't going to be a hero. That he had to be careful. Well, the point wasn't being careful. He was fighting physics and biology, not Rittenhouse.

He turned on the force field and then stepped out of the Lifeboat. The field seemed to create a weird shiny bubble around him. He reached out his hand and felt something physically stop his hand. It wasn't solid exactly. But it sure felt strange. He saw the sleeper standing by the road. Then he saw a car approach. A young woman was driving. She was dark haired with large glasses and seemingly talking to herself. Lucy. The sleeper raised his gun. Wyatt shut off the force field. He then raised his own gun and fired. The man fell. Lucy turned to look back but clearly only saw the man fall. Wyatt turned on the force field again and watched in horror as Lucy's car drove straight off the side of the road into the water. He had known it would happen but somehow it felt worse.

Every instinct fought with him to panic and do something stupid. He took off running and stripped off the force field device before diving into the water. Lucy's car was filling with water and he could hear her screams and the way she was fighting. He felt it too. The effect of being in his own timeline was enough to make his head feel like exploding. He knew how to rescue her. He smashed open the window and grabbed her in the way he had been taught. She was resisting but stopped after a second. It was only a short distance to shore but it felt like a journey of a year. He wasn't going to make it back to the Lifeboat. No, way. But he had saved her.

"Thank you." she gasped out.

"Help will be on their way ma'am," he said. He grabbed the force field and flipped it on. The heaviness in his head dissipated a bit.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"A friend," he replied. He had to get back to Rufus. As much as he might want to stare at her it wouldn't do. Because it would hurt so much more when he got back to the present. And besides everything inside was scrambling together horribly. If he was going to die he'd prefer not to be around Lucy.

He did glance back. She was still panting and tears ran down her cheeks but she looked so much like his Lucy that it felt like the hardest thing in the world to step away. He made his way back to the Lifeboat. Rufus was waiting and when he stepped inside Rufus gave him a huge hug and said, "You made it man. I was afraid that my science wasn't working out."

"Yeah, let's get out of here. I feel a little funny." His head felt like it was splitting apart and the usual time traveling nausea was a hundred times worse. This might be what dying felt like. The pressure was so intense, building and making him feel like his body was literally being torn apart.

The moment the Lifeboat touched down Rufus pushed open the door and called out, "We need a doctor."

Wyatt didn't remember anything about the next three days. Apparently, he had a close shave. Just a moment or two more without the force field and he would have died. The effects of traveling back on your own timeline were probably, he noticed the word probably, not lasting. He still had one hell of a headache and couldn't eat. Denise fussed over him like he was a child which was both endearing and annoying. He thought she still felt grateful for him saving her life back in 81. Cynthia occasionally popped her head in but she was clearly not really into sick people. Rufus spent a lot of time talking about Star Wars and his latest theory in regards to upgrading the Lifeboat. He also talked a lot about Jiya. They had gotten over their lovers quarrel over her visions and now seemed happily in love. Wyatt was glad about it. If anyone deserved happiness it was Rufus and Jiya. But somehow it reminded him of Lucy and Hollywoodland and her excitement at knowing Rufus and Jiya were finally a thing.

He didn't look her up until he was back in commission. If there was something about her not existing or being dead he didn't want to know it while he was sick. But when he googled her name he found her just as before. She looked the same. But he caught a subtle hint of something like loneliness in her occasional Facebook post. Maybe Lucy wasn't as happy as he had thought?

Later that month Cynthia left the team. Her brother had gotten cancer and she wanted to be near him. Wyatt supposed he ought to feel sorry to see her go. It wasn't like he disliked her. But she wasn't Lucy. Rufus, Flynn, and Wyatt stumbled around in the past on those missions trying to avoid major catastrophes. Well, they didn't avoid having a major issue when Rittenhouse attacked a young John Kerry and they accidentally brought him to the present. Without a historian, they were a bit of a mess.

"I know of someone," Wyatt said. Flynn gave a sly smile. It was all going to plan. The journal part was finally happening.

"Who?" Denise looked as if she might run screaming outside of the bunker. No wonder. With the success rate of their recent missions, they were definitely giving her a headache.

"Lucy Preston. The historian in our time." Wyatt glanced at her.

She gave a slight knowing look and said, "I don't know. I believe her father is Rittenhouse. Her mother most likely was but she's dead. Lucy could be a very dangerous person to bring here. But I understand you are personally connected to her. Still, you must remember she may not be your Lucy. She could be someone quite different."

"Let me just go and talk with her. If she is Rittenhouse…"

"You wouldn't know." Denise looked at him and went on, "Yes, I know. And Lucy Preston could be a very dangerous person. Or a very helpful person."

So that's how he ended up in Westwood on a Thursday afternoon. Denise had already sent an email and apparently, Lucy had replied agreeing to meet with them. It was hard to think of Lucy being this formal. The thought of seeing her again, even another version of her, made him feel positively giddy. He wanted to sing, despite not having a voice but managed to suppress that impulse. Rufus was still working on the shield for the Lifeboat and couldn't be persuaded to stop working except for missions. Wyatt suspected Rufus wouldn't have been able to suppress the absolute joy at seeing Lucy again and said something really awkward.

It had been so long since he had been out of the Bunker that he had a hard time adjusting to it. UCLA was busy on a Thursday afternoon and he noticed that he was barely noticed. In his nice clothes (something he stole from the 80's) he probably looked like staff or something. Lucy had agreed to meet him in her office in Bunche Hall. The elevator conveniently was slow but fortunately, he had a few minutes to spare. He was going to see Lucy. The excitement welled up deep inside making everything else seem to disappear. Would he be able to contain his shock and elation when he saw her? He had been told his poker face wasn't very good.

He tapped on her office door and heard her voice, "Come in."

 **Author's Note: Yay! This is one of my favorite chapters. Lyatt finally meets in this timeline. Again I am completely making up the stuff about traveling in your own timeline. I have no clue how it works and the show didn't really elaborate on it. Wyatt finally admits to Rufus that he loves Lucy :). And Lucy is probably quite confused as to her guardian angel. Don't worry, you'll see him again in another twelve or so years.**

 **Having been in Bunche hall it is indeed true that the elevators are notoriously slow and often stall (The building is 11 stories which makes taking the stairs difficult. Most of the history professors have offices on the fifth and sixth floors.) I plan to include some more UCLA stuff because I'm a nerd. Thank you, Flynn, for confirming that Lucy graduated in history from UCLA. Wyatt is so excited to see Lucy it's not even funny. Even though he knows she isn't the same person exactly he's just so excited. This story is making me feel so much more happiness considering the sadness of canon. I'm trying to cheer myself up.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Summary: In which Wyatt and Lucy finally meet again in this timeline and Rittenhouse makes its move.**

She was sitting at her desk looking at her computer. The bright California sun streamed in the window showering her in golden light. The books lining the walls and the messy desk with papers strewn everywhere was so essentially Lucy he couldn't help smile. Her eyes were the same too. Warm and chocolate colored as they met his for an instant. She looked shocked for a moment as if she had seen a ghost. Of course, she must have recognized him as the person who rescued her in the car crash. Then she recovered. Perhaps she was telling herself that it couldn't possibly be the same person. "Professor Preston?"

She smiled, "You're Wyatt Logan, correct. Agent Christopher said you'd be coming."  
"I am. It's nice to meet you, ma'am. I have heard a lot about you." he said. He was probably grinning like a fool but he couldn't help it. The sight of her, the smell of her perfume and her general presence was too much.  
"All good things I hope. Hopefully, you haven't talked to any former students. I have a few still complaining about the final paper." She offered him a chair and a cup of coffee. He accepted the coffee mainly so he had something to occupy his hands. Before he did something creepy like try to touch her.  
"Oh yes. Plus I read your books."  
"You did? I'm surprised. Most people haven't even heard of them. I'm not exactly a New York Times bestseller." Her grin lit up her face as she sat down. She wasn't sitting at her desk exactly but to the side so they were pretty close. He noticed she was dressed fairly formally but her jacket was off and hanging off her chair. Typical Lucy.  
"It was very interesting, ma'am. I supposed Denise mentioned something about why I'm here." even though he would have loved to keep talking about anything with Lucy he needed to get to the point. She was a busy person.  
" Do you know anything about Rittenhouse?" He asked. Lucy's face paled and she gripped the side of her desk for a moment.  
"If you are sent by Emma tell her I'm not helping her. Kill me or whatever but you aren't going to get me to join your evil group." Lucy's eyes flashed as she met his own. "Why are you here, Mr. Logan? I'm sure you have better things to do than talk to a history professor."  
"So you do know about Rittenhouse?" Wyatt said. "That makes things easier."  
"Of course I know about them. They've made my life hell. I found out about them after my mother a year ago. She walked a line. Helping them but not completely. My father, my real father, was a big wig in it. He got arrested a few months ago. They keep pressuring me to join. You can tell your boss that it'll be over my dead body."  
"What about your sister, Amy?" Wyatt asked.  
"Amy... how do you know about her?" Lucy pulled further away.  
"You have social media." Wyatt was watching her closely. This was the desperate Lucy Flynn had described. A woman at her wit's end. Clearly, Rittenhouse had been stepping up their attacks.  
" Oh. Well, she feels the same way. We've promised each other we won't join. No matter what." Lucy glanced at him with her face set.  
This was the Lucy he knew. This brave, beautiful woman who had been willing to sacrifice herself to stop Rittenhouse. He had known somehow she wouldn't flip but it was a relief to know that she hadn't. Some tiny part of him had wondered if this Lucy was the same one he had known.  
"Listen, Mr. Logan, I really think this isn't going to be a productive conversation. I've made my mind up. I'm not joining your group. So just go." Lucy stood up and went towards the door.  
"I'm trying to bring down Rittenhouse. We need your help." Wyatt said.  
"What?" Lucy turned around. " What are you talking about?"  
"Do you believe in time travel?" Wyatt asked.  
Lucy laughed, "Do you need me to call security? What kind of ridiculous question is that? Of course not. Time travel isn't real."  
"It is real. I have personally traveled through time. Rittenhouse has control of a time machine. We have control of the other one. It was invented at Mason Industries and they stole it in order to control history. They are actively changing history to suit them. They tried to kill JFK when he was a teenager."  
Lucy's face went through a wide range of expressions. Disbelief, wonder, recognition, and fear flickered across her face and then slowly dissipated. "Mason Industries? Are they involved? I mean before Mason lost everything."  
"Yes, he was involved. But he's on our side now." Wyatt said.  
"I can't believe it. But those papers my mother had kept talking about the Mothership. And different dates in history. I couldn't understand what they were talking about. She didn't write them. But she had them in her possession." Lucy's hand shook as she grasped her cup and raised it to her lips.  
"You have them?" Wyatt said with excitement. Those documents could be incredibly valuable.  
"No, they were stolen. Rittenhouse broke into the bank I kept them in. But I have a copy of some of the stuff." Lucy replied.  
"We need your help, Professor. We are down a historian. The last one had to leave because her brother has cancer. That information you know maybe what we need to take down Rittenhouse for good." Wyatt saw Lucy's face change. She looked determined but frightened.  
" I don't think I can help you. I need to think about my sister. I won't join Rittenhouse but I'm also not going to put her in danger. If I join you then my sister will be hurt." Lucy went on, "My sister won't be the next victim."  
"That's the point. You are extremely unsafe right here. Any day some Rittenhouse agent could walk into your office, your classroom or your home. They know you aren't part of them. They won't hesitate to take either you or your sister out regardless of whether you join us. But we have protection. We have an underground bunker with 24/7 protection."  
"Don't you think I've thought of that? I spend every day waiting for the call. That Amy is missing or murdered. Or that a class will end in gunshots." Lucy was silent for a second. Then she went on, "Ok. I'll come with you. Under one condition. My sister comes with."  
Wyatt had expected Lucy would insist on Amy coming with. He said, "Let me check with Denise and I'll let you know."  
He dialed Denise and waited for her to pick up. He stood near the window and glanced down on the Sculpture garden below. The room was hot and stuffy. Clearly, this old building needed a bit of work. Lucy was watching him with a curious expression on her face. It was hard to look at her. She was so beautiful and strong and he had so many memories she didn't share.  
"Wyatt, how is it going?" Denise sounded apprehensive.  
"Fine, Ma'm. I just wanted to make sure that it was ok if she brings her sister. Apparently, Rittenhouse is trying to get both of them. She also has some intel from her mother's papers though not the originals."  
Denise was silent for a long time, "We checked out both Lucy and her sister. There is no evidence that they are involved in Rittenhouse. And Lucy has asked for a restraining order against Noah Walters who was apparently her ex-fiancé. He has been arrested and is part of Rittenhouse. But Wyatt, they could be part of it. This Lucy may not be the one you knew."  
"I know. But as you said, she is afraid for her life. I think there is reason to believe that she is being targeted." Wyatt prayed to whatever unseeing force was watching out for them, the one that Jiya believed in, that somehow Denise would trust him. And Lucy.  
"Ok, tell you what. Meet the sister. Get a read on her and then bring them here. We need a historian asap. Flynn, Rufus and Jiya just jumped to follow the Mothership." Denise sounded exhausted and frazzled.  
"I'll be right there. I hope it will be ok. I don't trust Flynn with Rufus or Jiya." Wyatt swallowed back the nerves he felt whenever he thought about Flynn. Flynn was on their side but for how long?  
"I know. I don't either. But we didn't have much choice. There was no one else to go." Denise replied.  
Wyatt glanced up at Lucy. She was still staring at him with that puzzled expression on her face. He could see her trying to piece together some understanding of why he looked so familiar. Sometime maybe he could tell her what happened. But it was way too fast and she'd probably freak out.  
"I think I should meet your sister next. Provided that works out we can drive up to the bunker tonight." Wyatt wondered if Lucy would miss her life. A life that was probably far less crazy than the one she had been living in his timeline.  
"Ok. I mean it's summer so I don't have any classes. I am technically on break right now. I just spend time at the office because I hate my apartment." Lucy paused and then added, "You seem…no never mind."  
There was another knock at the door. Lucy spoke before he could stop her. "Come in."  
Wyatt tensed as he saw her open the door. Lucy wasn't used to protocol and didn't think about checking to see who was on the other side. He slipped a hand inside of his jacket and touched his gun. He'd be ready.

 **Author's Note: Yay! Lyatt finally meets again. :) Honestly, Wyatt is just so darn excited to see Lucy. He's like an excited puppy. And Lucy is still trying to figure him out. She's not sure she can trust him. By the way, Bunche hall really is a kinda crappy building. I had fun thinking of ways it was a security risk. Also, I need to know how the mission with Flynn, Jiya and Rufus turned out. Probably Jiya was just rolling her eyes the whole time. I love how spirited Lucy is. Even though she hasn't been through all of the things other timeline Lucy did she's still just as determined and feisty.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Summary:** **Emma attacks and they make their escape.**

 **Note:** **I know there is a lot of fandom drama and ship wars and ugly stuff so I decided to post this chapter early. I'm sorry for all the fans who have gotten caught up in the drama. I know we are headed for yet another love triangle and more ugliness if the show is renewed. So I'm trying to keep things positive and no matter what happens in season 3 we all have our fan works to explore. So keep on fighting for a season 3.**

 **Trigger Warning: I also briefly allude to a shooting at the school in which no one is hurt.**

"So good to see my two favorite people have finally met, eh?" Emma Whitmore stood there with her gun pointed at Lucy. "Did he tell you about the wife?"  
"What?" Lucy looked confused but she didn't seem shocked to see Emma. Wyatt realized she must have been threatened by her before. Would Emma shoot Lucy? Probably. Lucy was a liability to Rittenhouse. Without Carol to halfway protect Lucy Emma was easily capable of killing Lucy.  
"Well, Princess, you brought this one on yourself. You met with him. And now your sister is going to die because of it." Emma grinned and then said, "You're going to watch. That might teach you not to fight us."  
Lucy pressed a hand to her throat. He could see the terror in her eyes. Emma had the advantage. "As for you now that the wife's back I bet you don't care about her, do you?"  
"I don't understand. What's that got to do with Rittenhouse?" Lucy was stalling. He could see the wheels turning in her head. Emma, fortunately, seemed in a talkative mood.  
"That guy over there. You two used to be partners. And then dead wife comes back and presto… you got dumped. You don't really trust him to keep you safe, do you?" Emma stepped closer. "Now it's time to move. You're meeting your sister at that bar and grill in Westwood. Tell her you aren't feeling good and that you'll meet her at home."  
Lucy nodded and reached into her purse for her phone. He saw her pull something else too. A small tazer. What the hell? Emma obviously saw too but it was a second too late. Emma was stunned just long enough for the bullet to go off and just barely miss Lucy's arm. Wyatt tackled Emma and they went rolling and flying. Lucy had grabbed Emma's gun but Emma had a mean looking knife pressed against his throat. She seemed to have completely forgotten Lucy existed.  
"If you use that knife I'll shoot." Lucy's eyes were clear as she held the gun to Emma's head.  
Emma released him. Emma knew that this timeline Lucy would sacrifice his life to get her and to save her sister. Emma was too fond of her own survival.  
"Ok, Princess. You won this round. But remember we're winning the war. And I know exactly how to do it." Emma grinned as if she had beaten them all. In a way she had.  
The moment Emma was gone Wyatt was aware of the sound of sirens approaching. Someone had heard the shots and called for help. Another school shooting at UCLA. Emma was nowhere to be seen. Wyatt was a legal gun owner but attempting to explain to the police that he hadn't been trying to shoot up a school would be difficult. Lucy was shaking now but she pushed her desk up against the door.  
"Help is on its way, ma'am," he said reassuringly.  
"What did you say?" Lucy asked. Her face had gotten even paler than usual.  
"Help is on its way, ma'am," he repeated.  
"It can't be. It can't be." She muttered to herself.  
"Who are you?" she said. Louder this time. Her dark eyes flashed suddenly.  
"A friend." He replied.  
"We don't have time for this but when the police leave you and I are going to talk. Because something crazy is going on and I really don't know how to process it." Lucy pulled herself together with a visible effort.  
Everyone on campus was put on lockdown as the police questioned Lucy about Emma's appearance. Denise was called in and the result was that they were let go in a remarkably short period of time. Technically Lucy's steadfast testimony that it had been Emma who entered with a gun had probably had almost as much effect as Denise's backing of his mission. The school was a chaotic mess after reports surfaced that shots were fired in Bunche Hall. The going rumor was that a crazed female had walked in there and shot a professor over an ex-boyfriend.  
"Lucy, what is going on? It's all over. The whole school shooting at UCLA at Bunche hall." Wyatt heard a female voice shouting on the phone as Lucy picked it up. That must be Amy.  
"I'm ok. I just got grazed. I mean I didn't even start bleeding. I have more to explain." Lucy said softly, "I love you too Amy. I'll be home as soon as I can. I can't talk now but prepare for going away for awhile."  
He could hear Amy's protests as Lucy hung up. "I couldn't explain it over the phone."  
"I understand. I'm sure she does too." He smiled at her and she tried smiling back but it turned into a grimace.  
Finally, they were let go. Rittenhouse had struck again. Emma's identity was spread far and wide but she spent most of her time in the past anyway. Rittenhouse's actions would continue.  
It was almost nine before Lucy said, "We can go now. I want you to meet Amy, my sister. If she agrees to leave I'll go."  
Wyatt was anxious to meet Amy, the girl Lucy had spent so much time thinking about. He allowed himself the luxury of watching Lucy without her knowing it. It was probably creepy but after having fallen for this woman it was impossible not to just look at her. He noticed her clothing choices hadn't changed. A sensible but very attractive grey suit and softly applied makeup gave the impression of effortless grace. Her mannerisms were the same. The awkwardness and clumsiness. The stubbornness and fierce pride. The determination to do the right thing regardless of the cost.  
"Amy, I'm home." She called out as she opened the door. Wyatt stood back as Lucy and her sister embraced. Amy was crying and Lucy was crying and they were both holding on to each other like they would never let go. It was an incredible sight. All the heartache of missing Lucy was worth it for seeing her with her sister.  
"Lucy now seems an odd time to bring guys home." Amy choked out as she looked behind Lucy and saw him. Wyatt stifled a chuckle. Amy was blunt and no-nonsense that was for sure.  
"Amy, this is Master Sargent Wyatt Logan of Delta Force. He's part of a team that's trying to take down Rittenhouse. That's why he's here." Lucy said it all very formally and it brought with it a stab of something like regret. He truly was a stranger to her.  
"Nice to meet you," Amy said warily. She kept her eyes fixed on him as she said, "It's kinda weird that the very same time Lucy has a meeting with you Rittenhouse shows up."  
"Amy, Rittenhouse has been following us for months. They've been sending me warnings. We aren't safe." Lucy pulled away from her sister long enough to touch her cheek. There were tears on her face but she was resolute. That was the Lucy he knew.  
"What do we do?" Amy was all business now as she straightened her shoulders. Lucy and Amy were more alike than he realized. They were both incredibly brave. Neither one was flinching or even considering joining Rittenhouse.  
"That's where he comes in. Homeland Security has been looking for a historian to try to take down Rittenhouse. I'd be part of a team. I also have the intel we collected from mom." Lucy explained.  
"No offense, but why is Homeland Security hiring historians? What are you doing? Data analysis. Lucy has a great job already." Amy said suspiciously.  
" Because we need a historian to go with us on missions into the past. Time travel." Wyatt explained.  
Amy started laughing, "Oh my god. It's not April 1st. You don't have the right to pull this shit."  
"I'm not joking. Mason Industries created a time machine. Two actually. And Rittenhouse is in possession of one." Wyatt replied.  
"Ok, so what's Lucy supposed to do? Show up and history the shit of some sort of gun fight? No thanks. If Homeland Security was so worried about our safety then they would just give us a security team or something." Amy frowned again. Wyatt recognized the Preston intelligence. She clearly didn't take this whole thing as legitimate.  
"Amy, why don't we go make something to eat? I have some leftover spaghetti I can heat up. Would you like some?" Lucy addressed him.  
"That would be great, ma'am," he replied. Lucy frowned. She almost looked like she was about to chastise him for calling her ma'am.  
The two women went into the kitchen but the couch he was sitting on was pushed against the wall. He could hear them talking. He tried not listening but it was nearly impossible. He told himself he needed to know what they were like when he wasn't around. For the sake of the team.  
"Ok, Lucy I know it's been awhile since you got laid and I'm not denying he's hot as hell but honestly…sis, you could find someone better on Tinder." Amy spoke without lowering her voice. He winced. She was right of course. He had tried, before Lucy disappeared, to put both Lucy and Jessica in his life with no success.  
"Amy, what are you talking about? I'm worried about Rittenhouse. Emma literally pulled a gun on me. She was planning to kill you and then kill me. I stunned her long enough for him to disarm her and then I grabbed her gun. We're in so much danger." Lucy sounded like the weight of the world was on her shoulders.  
"But why trust this guy? We don't know him. He could be a serial killer or something. He also believes time travel is real. Clearly crazy."  
"Because in mom's papers she mentioned something called the Mothership. And certain references to key dates. In addition, Emma seemed to know this guy and clearly hated him. Which means they probably have fought against each other before." Lucy paused. "There's another reason I know he's telling the truth."  
"What?" Amy asked.  
"I saw him before. Remember when I got in my accident? The guy who rescued me. That's the guy. He saved my life." Lucy's voice got softer until it was hard to hear the words.  
"That doesn't mean he isn't Rittenhouse," Amy said.  
"You don't understand. He looked exactly like he does now. Like it had been three months since he rescued me not nearly fifteen years. And then certain things he said. As if he already knew who I was. And there was this weird light, misty thing he turned on. And then he just walked away." Lucy finished.  
"Ok, but you were upset and nearly drowned. Can you be sure you saw things right?"  
"I'm sure of it. I've spent years wanting to thank him. Now I have a chance. I believe in time travel because of that."  
"Ok, so now we know Blue Eyes is a vampire. Wonderful. Still, don't want to share close quarters with him." Amy sounded like Rufus now which made him smile. Even if she was insulting him.  
"He's not a vampire." Lucy countered.  
"You totally didn't fantasize about that all these years did you?" Amy laughed and continued, "Don't worry. The feelings mutual. He looks at you like he wants to have his way with you on the kitchen table."  
"Amy, keep your voice down." Lucy's horrified whisper and Amy's irreverent laugh combined to make his face turn one hundred shades redder. Was he that obvious? Probably. The truth was the thought had crossed his mind. He just wanted to be near Lucy. He'd be satisfied with their old friendship, at least for right now, but a certain part of him just wanted her the same way he had wanted her in 41. He knew what it was like to be with her.  
"Ok, sorry, I know you don't do one night stands. But just…be careful." Amy sounded properly apologetic and Wyatt suspected Lucy had sent her one of those famous Lucy Preston disproving stares. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down because Amy's words had brought up way too many mental pictures that were definitely not suitable for a situation like this.  
"You'll go with me? Won't you? I'm not leaving you behind." Lucy sounded nearly in tears. There was only one person who could make her sound like that. Amy.  
"I'll go. I mean it's dangerous as hell but thank God I have an online business. Being a personal assistant has its perks. Provided that this safe house has WiFi."  
Lucy and Amy came out a few minutes later and he ate the leftover spaghetti with them. Lucy kept staring at him in confusion probably trying to connect the dots between her rescuer and him. Amy was staring at him as if she was trying to read his mind. So far he didn't think he had made a favorable impression on her. Lucy kept up a running dialog about packing and preparing. That was the Lucy he knew.  
"We might as well empty the fridge out," Lucy said. She sounded sad suddenly. No wonder. What person enjoyed being chased by an evil terrorist organization?  
He sat and waited as the two women packed their stuff. Amy came into the room with her suitcase and laptop case and what he recognized as a tripod. Lucy had mentioned Amy had a podcast. Clearly, she was serious about it. Lucy stumbled in with a bag and a box. She said, "You've got everything, Ames?"  
"Yeah, Luc." Amy glanced at him. "So lead us to your dungeon, soldier."

 **Author's Note: Ok, I know there is a lot of issues with school shootings especially at UCLA after a student shot a professor a few years back. I just wanted to be conscious of that. But in episode 5 they had Wyatt and Emma fighting in the hospital and in real life, you wouldn't be able to just escape the police and go. So obviously both the show and my story have some suspension of disbelief. Emma just would go to Lucy's office and try to kill her. You also notice I paralleled the pilot episode in reverse with Emma putting the gun to Wyatt's head, not Lucy's. Lucy is pretty badass already. I know people who do keep tasers on hand so it's a nice alternative to a gun which I can't see Lucy having. At least not yet.**  
 **Amy is an absolute scream. I adore her already. She's so onto Wyatt it isn't even funny. Not that he is ever good at hiding his massive adoration for Lucy. He is definitely majorly attracted to her because he already knows what it's like to be with her. And Lucy definitely has a weird connection to him due to him saving her life. Because Wyatt doesn't have the Jessica guilt hanging over him he's more prepared to act on his feelings way quicker and in a less angsty manner. Also, Emma totally revealed like huge plot points but Lucy doesn't pick it up. Probably because she is under so much stress.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Summary: In which Lucy and Amy arrive at the Bunker and Lucy takes her first trip in the Lifeboat.**

He had hoped that Lucy would sit in the front but Amy was easily carsick so she sat in the front. Lucy fell asleep almost immediately. Amy said after they had been on the road for awhile, "So what's it like? Traveling through time."

"Nauseating. And dangerous. And fun… sometimes." Wyatt thought about all the missions. How he had seen so much history and how much more he probably would see.  
" I have a hard time believing in this stuff. Time travel and all that." Amy confessed. "Sorry I've been giving you a hard time and being rude. I'm just protective of Lucy. Her last boyfriend was Rittenhouse. And abusive. When she didn't join him he beat her up and tried to kidnap her." Wyatt felt rage burn through him at the idea of Noah hurting Lucy. The idea of him laying a hand on Lucy gave him a sense of pain.  
"I can't understand how anyone could hurt her like that." He murmured. Amy glanced at him suspiciously, so he added hastily, "I mean it's just horrible to do something like that to anyone."  
What might he have done if Jessica had been living in the bunker with Lucy? Given his propensity for screwing things up could he have done something to break her heart. Like disappearing without a word and forcing her to go on a mission without him. Yeah, he certainly was capable of being an asshole.  
"You act sometimes…like you know her. Do you?" Amy commented.  
"Would I sound crazy if I told you that in another timeline she was the original historian? But that timeline was shot when Rittenhouse tried to kill JFK and somehow something we did change the timeline." Wyatt somehow trusted Amy to be discreet with the knowledge.  
"Ok, that does sound crazy. But if time travel is real I guess….So you two were friends?" Amy's voice had softened.  
"Yeah, we were." Wyatt thought about all the times the team had gone out and just talked. The moments in which they had found themselves facing death together. Yeah, they were friends. But they were also family.  
"Good. Lucy needs more friends." Amy smiled.  
"Why don't we switch? I've just got a cat nap and I'm feeling fresh." Lucy sat up and pushed the hair from her face.  
Normally Wyatt didn't relinquish control of a car. He had spent too much time obsessed with racing. But this was a rented car and he was tired. Lucy was a good driver. Not as fast as him but careful and reliable.  
"Thanks, Ma'm." They traded spots and as he nodded off he could hear the sound of her humming. The song sounded suspiciously like, "You Made Me Love You." He dreamed she was lying beside him like she had that night in 41 with that brilliant smile on her face. She was running her fingers down his arm and across his face and all he could remember was how happy he was. How perfect that moment was. Perhaps, perhaps he had a chance at recapturing something.  
It was nearly dawn when they arrived at the bunker. Wyatt called Denise who met them outside. Lucy and Amy shivered in the surprisingly cold air and Denise glanced at them before saying, "I know this is rustic but it is pretty safe. I hope you don't mind sharing a room. Occasionally with Jiya too."  
"Jiya's our tech and computer guru," Wyatt explained. Amy and Lucy exchanged glances. It was clear the bunker looked decidedly unappealing. Honestly, it was unappealing. It was like the dorm from hell.  
Denise stepped forward and said, "Everyone, this is Lucy Preston and her sister Amy. She is our new historian."  
They had already decided not to tell Lucy that some of them already knew her. It would probably creep her out more than it already did. So Jiya stepped forward and shook hands with them giving them her usual smile. Lucy and Amy grinned back. Clearly, they had at least one friend. Rufus was an easy sell too. In about five minutes he and Amy were laughing like they had been friends for years. Connor was well known to most people and only inspired a little awe mixed with confusion. Then there was Flynn. He looked as if he wasn't sure what to do since he couldn't dramatically tell Lucy that they were destined to work together or some other bullshit. He was introduced as another soldier. Amy looked suspicious and whispered to Rufus, "Why does that guy look like a mobster?"  
"Flynn, oh well, he's kinda a terrorist. But he's working with us right now so it's all good." Rufus said flippantly.  
"Oh god. Why did I agree to this? I'm not like Lucy. I don't have the hots for Master Sargent Logan." Amy whispered. Wyatt was eavesdropping and didn't care. So Lucy thought he was hot? Well, he could work with that.  
"Cause she's your sister. And because Rittenhouse is like even scarier. I get it. Flynn got me shot. But Rittenhouse is even worse. He's effective at this whole killing Rittenhouse thing." Rufus said.  
Lucy and Amy started unpacking and Wyatt wandered around the bunker trying to figure out what to do with himself. Lucy was back in the bunker. And things were majorly weird. But she was alive and safe and….  
"So that's Amy?" Rufus commented. "She's pretty…."  
"Blunt? Opinionated?" Wyatt hazarded. "Tell me about it. She basically accused me of being a vampire, a Rittenhouse agent and trying to seduce her sister."  
Rufus laughed. "That last one isn't wrong though. But yeah, I'm just happy she's around for Lucy. Lucy seems, she seems similar."  
Wyatt flushed a little at Rufus's blunt words. He shrugged. "Lucy is the same. She just has slightly different memories."  
Jiya came up and added, "Poor ladies. I introduced them to this hellhole. I think they wished they took their chances with Rittenhouse. Let's hope the Mothership doesn't jump before Lucy has a chance to get used to it."  
No such luck. Lucy and Amy barely had time to unpack and figure out how the bunker was situated before the telltale sound of the alarm alerted them that Emma had jumped again. Lucy came running, still dressed in sweats with her hair flying around her face, before skidding to a stop in front of Connor.  
"Where did they jump to?" Wyatt asked.  
"November 1, 2018. Flatbush, Brooklyn." Jiya called out.  
"Ok, that could have something to do with WWI," Lucy said. Wyatt noticed she was frowning as she pulled out her phone.  
"Wait a minute. Thank you, Wikipedia even though I never let my students use you. There was one of the largest train crashes in US history on that day. At least 93 people died and more than 250 were injured. The driver lost control of their train and crashed into the subway ceiling. The driver, Edward Luciano, was filling in for a driver who had gone on strike that morning. He had only two training hours compared to the required 60. That particular part of the line was extremely dangerous. He was unable to stop the train from crashing when they got out of a sharp curve. The company was considered partially responsible because they put an inexperienced person on the job and he was accused of manslaughter but was acquitted. As a result of the crash, the company implemented safety precautions." Lucy finished reading and then looked up  
"What does Rittenhouse care about a train crash in Brooklyn?" Wyatt asked.  
"Could they change the person responsible? Make them pose as an anarchist or communist to discredit the movement? The union representing the workers had just gone on strike. What if they changed it into a terrorist attack? The country was being rocked by internal issues over immigrants and German spies. A terrorist attack could be disastrous." Lucy replied.  
"That sounds plausible. Let's go." Wyatt saw the look of fear cross her face. This was the first time this Lucy had traveled through time.  
"But we don't have clothes." Lucy protested.  
"We'll steal them," Rufus said.  
"But I can't show up in 1918 in these….And my hair…." Lucy looked seriously pissed. "Do you know how easy it would be to catch us?"  
"Come on. Cynthia probably left some old clothes. And I can do your hair." Jiya prevented a possible explosion by grabbing a dress from 1904 and putting Lucy's hair up in a quick updo.  
Lucy almost stumbled into the Lifeboat and kept her eyes fixed on the many flashing lights and not on her feet. Wyatt grinned. Some things didn't change. Lucy's clumsiness was one thing. He grabbed her arm to help her into her seat. She sent him a quick glance and smile. She fumbled with her seatbelt. Yet another thing hadn't changed. He helped her without a word. She appeared surprised for a second, "How did you know I would have trouble?"  
"It's not my first rodeo, ma'am. I know those things are tricky." Wyatt replied.  
"Why do you keep calling me ma'am? We're roughly the same age." Lucy gritted out. But she was smiling a little too. He suspected she was only pretending to be offended.  
"Just being polite, ma'am." He answered.  
"Don't go scaring off our historian. What would we do without her expert advice? What if we brought back President Wilson accidentally?" Flynn said.  
"That would be horrible," Lucy said. She shuddered, "That could have catastrophic effects on the timeline."  
"I don't care much. I mean Wilson was a Klan supporter. So if I found out he was Rittenhouse I wouldn't be surprised." Rufus said.  
"That's true. I never liked Wilson. But that kind of change in history…it could totally change our lives, not for the better." Lucy smiled. "But honestly Wilson isn't on my list of favorite presidents."  
"Well, I hope you're prepared for a bumpy ride. You may throw up the first few times. Wyatt and Flynn sure did." Rufus grinned at him. Wyatt rolled his eyes. Rufus was grinning broadly.  
"Ugh! I hope not." Lucy bit her lip. Rufus started the Lifeboat. Wyatt hadn't gotten used to the feeling of traveling through time. But for Lucy, this must have been even harder. She gave a little yelp of shock as they landed.  
"God. Does that get easier?" she asked. She had turned pale and pressed a hand against her forehead. But she didn't throw up. Lucy Preston had a stomach of steel.  
"Not really. Call it your penance for today." Flynn said.  
"Well, on a good note, we haven't died yet," Lucy said. She smiled. "Well, should we…uhhh…stop Rittenhouse?"

 **Author's Note: Sorry I haven't been posting but I just graduated this weekend and I'm sick right now so I have more time. I love the Amy conversation with Wyatt. She is so on to him. I thought it was interesting how he's a bit more self-aware because his situation with Jessica occurred on its own. He didn't have to deal with his competing feelings with Lucy because she was in a different timeline.**  
 **he train crash was a real event that occurred as I described. I was looking for a rather obscure event for a reason you will find out in the next chapter. My methods of finding historical events are fairly random. I'm not a historian of American history so finding events can be a little difficult. I'd love to do world history but I have to keep it at least roughly connected to US history. I love my Amy/Rufus brotp and soon it will be an Amy/Flynn brotp. Amy is just so much fun to write. I can do what I want with her cause she was never really developed in canon. Also, Amy is totally on to Lucy already being really attracted to Wyatt even though she barely knows him. Plus he did save her life so she has this crazy connection to him. A lot of this will be revealed later so stay tuned. And of course, I had to include panicked-history-teacher-must-not change-the-timeline!Lucy while everyone else is like "History? It's fluid, changeable, who cares what we do with it?" I must say I agree with Lucy on this. Changing the timeline just isn't a good idea.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Summary: In which Lucy goes on her first mission, they fight Emma's attempts to kill them and Wyatt and Lucy have a conversation about his saving her life.**

Wyatt had to remind himself that this was Lucy's first trip. Because she was spending most of her time staring at the city streets. They managed to steal some clothes but Lucy continued to complain that her slip was ten years too old. Wyatt grinned remembering the incident with the underwire bra. It hadn't been fair of him, but somehow, now that they were on different timelines, it hurt too much not to remember. They bumbled through their names but Lucy surprised them by actually doing a halfway decent job of calling herself "Mary Parson."

"You did pretty good at that. At least you didn't call yourself 'Juliet Shakesman'" Wyatt commented. Rufus chuckled behind him.

Lucy blinked "That's pretty dumb. I mean I didn't do improv and two years of DI in high school to call myself something like that. Plus my sister is a actress and acting critic. So I know something even if I'm not going to win a Oscar."

"What's DI?" Rufus asked.

"Dramatic Interpretation. I can do an excellent interpretation of the Yellow Wallpaper woman." Lucy replied.

"Good. Because we still haven't found the sleeper agent." Flynn said.

They made their way to the train station where the accident was supposed to happen in just one hour. Wyatt wondered how they were possibly going to stop this. And if they did what impact would it happen on history? They looked up to find a familiar red head popping up. Emma. She looked their way. Her mouth curved up into a smile.

"We've got them, Will." A blond haired man in a police officer's uniform came up to them and grabbed Wyatt's arm. The other man grabbed Flynn. They struggled but not too hard. Starting a gunfight in the middle of 1918 Brooklyn was probably a bad idea. Even Flynn got that now. Well, ok. He was swearing in Russian and Croatian. God, that was bad. Lucy was being pushed aside.

"What are you doing, gentlemen? We need to be on the next train." She said. She stood her ground.

"Well, see here ma'am. We got a tip that a group of German spies and Bolsheviks are planning to blow up the train. And the group matches your description."

"Really, gentlemen, I can't understand how you could possibly get such an impression. There has to be some mistake. But we must be on that train. The fate of America is on that train." Lucy said seriously.

"Really, ma'am," the other cop said drawing her away, "You'll have a chance to call your family at the station."

"No, you don't understand. I am Mary Parsons and I must be on that train. I am part of the American Protective League and I'm going to be speaking tomorrow to the Ladies' Aid Association. And Lieutenant Larson here is speaking to a crowd about his experience in the 5th Divison. Mr. Latimer here is speaking about the threat of agitation. It's imperative we get on the train." Lucy struggled for a second and then stood still as if too afraid to fight.

"How come a fine lady like yourself is traveling with a bunch of gentlemen?" the blond cop asked.

"He's my brother." Lucy clamped her hand down on Wyatt's arm and smiled a little.

"How come you have two different last names?" the other cop asked.

"Because…" Lucy started and then paused dramatically. "I was married but my husband….he was killed on the Western Front. I must be on that train. For my poor Roddy's sake."

The cops were perfusive in their apologies. Clearly, they had been mistaken. It was just in time. The train was just pulling into the station when they were finally let go. Wyatt and Rufus exchanged glances, "Is it just me or has Lucy really improved her acting skills?"

"No, she's definitely improved her acting skills. I was almost crying at her poor dead husband. And you're her brother now. Better uhh…" Rufus trailed off.

"What?" Wyatt asked. This damn doughboys costume was ugly and awful.

"Lay off the whole sexual tension thing. The sibling thing won't work." Rufus said.

For once in his life, Wyatt was glad he had caught up to Lucy and Flynn. Lucy smiled and said, "I'm sorry I claimed you as a relative but I didn't think I think of anything else. And we most closely resemble each other of this group."

"That's fine." Wyatt smiled back until Rufus coughed. Oh yeah, that's right. Siblings didn't look that sappy. He was definitely being punished.

"I'm sorry, Rufus. It's just…" Lucy said.

"Don't worry. There is basically no part of history that's great for a black guy." Rufus shrugged but Lucy still frowned.

"Ok, the next step is to find that sleeper," Wyatt announced. The train was picking up and Lucy was counting out the minutes.

"I think Rittenhouse replaced the driver with an agent. The original driver survived with barely a scratch." Lucy whispered.

"Why don't we just go to the front?" Wyatt asked. "We can disable him."

"We can't change history. The crash still needs to happen." Lucy said.

"We'll worry about what happens once we catch the guy." Flynn made his move. Nobody glanced up as he walked up the aisle. Lucy ran after him, tripping over her skirts. Wyatt frowned but followed. Lucy in between them was the safest position anyway. Wyatt might dislike Garcia Flynn but he was a pretty good fighter.

"Where are you going?" A porter tried to stop them. Flynn raised his weapon. The man cried out.

"Just stay quiet. There are spies on this train. They are trying to crash the train." Flynn explained. "We're Pinkertons."

The porter looked dubious but had clearly decided that staying silent was the safest option. They crept beyond into the front of the train. "It's sure easy to get to the front," Lucy whispered.

"It's before 911, ma'am," Wyatt whispered back. Lucy nodded sagely.

Suddenly a familiar red-haired woman appeared in front of them. She held a gun in her hand a smirk touched her lips. Emma. Again. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Stopping the train," Flynn replied.

"Oh we wouldn't want to mess up history would we, Princess?" Emma said mockingly. "This train is gonna crash. And you're all on it. Which means all of you are going to die."

"What about you?" Wyatt questioned. "I don't think you're planning to die."

"Because I'm going to get off at the next stations while you are all trapped on this train." Emma smiled again. "It was so nice knowing all of you. But I've won this time."

Emma's goons grabbed them and began putting the handcuffs on. She stuffed gags down their throats but surprisingly didn't try to knock them out. Wyatt suspected she wanted them to suffer. Emma was grinning wildly. She clearly thought she had won. Emma was so cocky sometimes that was her undoing. Wyatt kept his poker face. What Emma didn't know was that he knew exactly how to get them out of this. If the old Lucy was around she'd be grinning just as broadly as Emma. All he had to do was wait until Emma was gone.

"Farewell, enemies. Really, it was a pity. You had so much potential to be a supervillain like me. As for you, Princess, you could be fucking queen. Such a shame to leave that sister behind." Emma's laugh rang out. They all glared at her. "Come on, boys. We need to go."

He didn't hesitate a second. The moment Emma disappeared he spit the gag out and turned to Lucy. "You have a hairpin?"

Lucy could only nod. "Sorry. But I have to grab one." Lucy looked confused until he leaned over and started to try to grab one with his teeth. Her face turned red, whether from anger or embarrassment, but she didn't move away. That was the only thing she could do. Rufus was chuckling despite his gag. He knew exactly what Wyatt was doing. The whole digging through Lucy's hair to find a hairpin was probably a weird call back to pulling the underwear from her bra with his teeth but almost worse. It was kind of liking playing that game where you tried to catch an apple in a pail of water. Finally, he managed to catch one. He dropped it on the ground and managed to pick it up with his hands. Then he tried that special trick he knew and within a minute the handcuffs were off. He removed her gag and cuffs and did the same for the rest.

"That was fucking weird," Flynn commented. Wyatt glared at him. Flynn probably remembered how he had escaped from him using that same trick.

Rufus muttered something about underwire bras under his breath. Fortunately, neither Lucy nor Flynn had any idea of the real meaning of the cryptic phase. Lucy shrugged and said, "Well at least we're free. That was pretty impressive. I was sure we were toast."

"Let's get off this train." Wyatt answered. It might be nice to bask in the light of her obvious admiration but they didn't have time.

"We can't just leave these people." Rufus objected. "Almost 100 people die. We've got to make some effort to stop them."

"We can't. If we stay any longer…" Wyatt felt Rufus's reproachful gaze.

"Let me at least try. I've never driven a train but it's still easier than the Lifeboat." Rufus pleaded.

"Ok," Wyatt replied. Rufus's innate desire to save people was part of what made him so special. And they had changed history several times in big ways. He wasn't as attached to preserving history as Lucy had been.

"Ok, change of plans. Let's try to hijack the train and get it to safety." Rufus addressed the others.

"Rufus, that could make things worse. You know less about this train than that pilot, even if he is Rittenhouse. Their goal is us, not the people on this train." Lucy said.

Wyatt noticed that she seemed less obsessed with saving history this time around. Maybe because she recognized that history was malleable, completely and totally subjective and widely debated. There were so many infinite possibilities.

"That's the last stop before the crash. Let's get off." Flynn urged.

Rufus shook his head, "I don't like this." He said. Wyatt understood how he was feeling. There was a desire to save all these innocent people. But Lucy was right. None of them knew anything about running trains especially ones on such a tough terrain. And if they interfered the crash might be worse.

When they got back onto the Lifeboat Lucy gave a profound sigh and unexpectedly started crying, "I feel so guilty. All those people. I mean, it's history. That's what I'm doing. Protecting it. But if I could stop all the horrible things that happened. I mean, would that be right? Sacrifice the present to save the past. I don't know."

"Maybe some things are just meant to be?" Wyatt said. He remembered Lucy's rather callous statement about Jessica right after they met. This Lucy seemed more compassionate than that one. She seemed closer to the Lucy he knew now. He had come to believe in some type of fate. Not everything in life was possible to change.

"I guess," Lucy replied. Rufus geared up the Lifeboat and they soared back through time.

"How many people died in the crash? Was there a crash?" Lucy asked the minute they opened the hatch.

"75 people died. More than 100 injured. Blamed on a possible union sabotage but that was never proven. The driver Ralph Ray was acquitted and then disappeared. We find no trace of him after that." Denise replied.

"Well, close enough," Rufus said. He looked happy that fewer people had died. But all Wyatt could think of was how Amy had gotten erased. He glanced around. Amy was standing there waiting for Lucy to stop talking.

"Oh my god. When that thing disappeared I freaked out. I didn't believe it was real until I saw it go. And then I spent about six hours drinking with Connor fucking Mason trying to keep calm. But you're all right? Right?" Amy was crying as she hugged her sister.

"She's more than all right. She saved our asses." Wyatt said proudly. Lucy smiled up at him a little shyly.

"How?" Amy asked. Wyatt told her the story enjoying how her eyes lit up in pride at Lucy's accomplishment. Lucy was blushing and protesting. Wyatt wanted to kiss her so badly. She was frankly adorable when she got all flustered and embarrassed. She was such an interesting contrast. She had been calm as a cucumber facing Emma. Now she was all discombobulated.

Amy grinned, "I always knew you were way more badass than you gave yourself credit for."

Lucy smiled, "I'm just glad I'm here with you. Now can you help me find some tea? That Lifeboat made me feel so seasick."

Before disappearing towards the kitchen Lucy turned to him, "Thank you."

"For what?" Wyatt said.

"For rescuing me in the lake after my crash. I don't know how you did it. How you knew. But thank you." Lucy looked up with that open expression in her face. Wyatt felt his stomach clench remembering the last time she had looked even half so open. It had been right before the fatal text from Jessica.

" This may sound crazy. But we knew you were joining the team. So I had to save you." Wyatt hoped he wasn't coming off as really creepy. Someday maybe he would be able to tell her about his timeline.

"I don't get it," Lucy commented. "This time travel thing is giving me a headache. Why do you care so much about me? Can't you find another historian?"

"There are things you are meant to do. It's hard to explain. I'm not the science person. Something about time loops and stuff." Wyatt really wished he could casually rattle off some bull shit sciency sounding explanation for why he was so obsessed with saving her life. That didn't involve staring into her eyes and talking about how incredibly amazing she was.

"Ok," Lucy looked unconvinced but at least she didn't seem creeped out, "It was a crazy thing. Traveling in time. I can't believe that's my job now."

"You don't get used to it. I thought I would. But each time is totally different." Wyatt commented as they made their way towards their respective rooms.

"It's nice. Doing something useful for a change. Noah always said I was only good at history and it wasn't like I was going to save the world with that. That made me so mad. Because history is important, maybe not like being a doctor, but it's important." Wyatt wanted to kill Noah What's His Name for daring to talk to Lucy like that. He had known the guy was horrible because she had to file a restraining order but somehow hearing her admit it made it all worse.

"I can't believe he said that," he nearly yelled making her start in surprise, "Sorry, it's just so offensive."

"Well, we broke up. So no real harm. He was Rittenhouse anyway. I think I was trying to please my mother. And he fit into my perfect five-year plan. You know what I mean? Sometimes you fall for someone thinking they are perfect for you and check a bunch of boxes only to find out they weren't what you expected." Lucy tried keeping her tone light but he could hear the pain in it. This Lucy had loved Noah. And had her heart broken by him. Just like his Lucy had been hurt by him. He would never forget the hurt expression in her eyes as she saw Jessica.

"Yeah, I get it. I mean I guess that's why I'm divorced. Not that Jessica is like Noah. I mean, we just drifted apart." Wyatt couldn't possibly explain how she had been dead for six years or how he had fallen for someone else in the meantime. It made no sense whatsoever. It was true. He and Jessica had drifted apart. It had taken them being reunited for him to realize it.

Lucy nodded her head. "Relationships are weird. That's why I'm not so hot on the idea. My first really serious relationship turns out like that? It must be a sign."

"It's not a sign. Just bad luck." Wyatt saw the cynicism in this Lucy. She had her heart broken and she wasn't about to open it easily. And he wasn't exactly the kind of guy she should fall for. He was way too messed up. But that didn't stop him from wanting to try to make her fall for him. Because if anyone was worth loving it was Lucy.

"Well, anyway. Good night." Lucy smiled at him as she reached the kitchen.

"Good night, ma'am," he said.

"Don't call me ma'am," she called back. But he saw her bite back a grin. He couldn't repress one himself. Lucy was back and all was right in this world.

 **Author's Note: I wasn't planning on posting this as soon as this. But after hearing the news that Timeless has been canceled and our biggest hope is a TV movie I decided I had to post. I want to give all you lovely fans something happy to read while planning your method of attack. We need that movie if we can't get a season 3. Honestly, I'm gutted that it hasn't been renewed. I'm especially mad that they took so long to announce it.**

 **I had a chuckle because you may notice that Lucy is a much better actress in this timeline. I did that to show that each time you change the timeline you change something about the person. Plus in Hollywoodland Lucy mentioned she was a speech and debate person. That means that she should be a little better at her cover stories. Emma's plan was to try to trap them on the train. In this case, the actual historical event wasn't as important as her plan. Emma is so sure of herself that I think she generally underestimates the team. In this case, she didn't realize how good Wyatt is at breaking locks and getting out of sticky situations. I laughed my head off at the visual of him rifling through Lucy's hair with his teeth. Not totally romantic. More awkward.**

 **We also get a conversation between Lyatt. Lucy finally realizes who saved her life and we find out a little more about her relationship with Noah. I actually think Noah really loved her but since I made Jessica not evil I'm making Noah evil instead. Rufus makes me laugh. He is so on to Wyatt and gonna make his life miserable. Flynn is having a bit more trouble adjusting to this Lucy since she's so different than journal Lucy and in this story, I'm not making him in love with her (whether he is in canon is up for debate but I'm not exploring a love triangle in this story).**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Summary: Lucy and Amy talk about the car accident and Lucy learns more about the journal.**

Lucy Preston was still reeling from everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. She had gone from having an afternoon meeting over something to do with data analysis to nearly getting killed by Emma to finally being stuck in an underground bunker. And oh, by the way, time travel is 100% real. She had gone back in time to 1918 and met the guy who rescued her in college who looked exactly the same. It was enough to give her a heart attack.

"Oh my god. You're blushing." Amy looked up from her laptop where she was probably watching her latest Youtube favorite make some disgusting challenge.  
"I'm not. Just thanking Wyatt for saving my life." Lucy replied.  
"Sure. How did that go again? I'm sure you're soo grateful. Well, please don't keep me awake." Amy was grinning as she watched Lucy. Lucy could feel her cheeks burn. The truth was Wyatt Logan was a very attractive guy. And she did have an intense connection to him. She had spent years puzzling over his mysterious appearance and how he had saved her. She remembered everything about their encounter. She didn't really believe in the idea of the One True Love. Or the flash of lightning that people said love was like. But it felt as if she had known him for years.  
The moment she had seen him in her office her whole world had tilted off its axis. She had told herself it was impossible. He couldn't possibly be the guy who saved her. He didn't look a day older. Then she heard his voice, the soft even warm voice, and her whole body shook with the realization that even his voice sounded the same. Then he talked about how he had actually read her books. That was a shock. Most people didn't care. For a time she had believed he was Rittenhouse. That he had been sent there to warn her. He seemed to know far too much about her than was normal. He had asked her if she believed in time travel. She had laughed but for a moment had remembered the accident and her mother's strange writings.  
Emma's words came back to her. She hadn't seemed a bit surprised that Wyatt was there. She had said something very weird about his wife. Lucy couldn't understand any of it. Emma had acted as if Lucy and Wyatt knew each other. As if they were in love which was ridiculous because they had just met. Emma had actually implied that she and Wyatt had been dating. Which they hadn't been. Lucy told herself Emma was just messing with her. Emma was that kind of person.  
Lucy didn't really believe in fate. Or soulmates. She had simply decided that Noah fit all the boxes and fallen in love with him. It had been easy. He was handsome, smart and funny. He knew how to make her feel special. Until he started putting her down. Implying she didn't know how to make her own decisions. Lucy always fought back. She wasn't a pushover. But Noah had responded by acting offended as if she had been the one to hurt him. Finally, she had enough. That's when he started threatening her. And when she realized he was the enemy. He was Rittenhouse.  
"It's not like that, Amy," Lucy replied. "Stop having your head in the gutter."  
Amy laughed, "Oh I know. You're not that kind of person. But hey, can't you admit that these people are sinfully hot. Don't worry. I'm not hitting on soldier boy. I'm gay, remember?"  
Lucy rolled her eyes, "Amy, I have to be crazy. Or reading into it. But Emma kept implying that I knew Wyatt and that somehow we used to work together. Which isn't possible."  
"She's right. Wyatt told me that in his timeline you were the historian. You were the one that traveled on all those missions. Apparently, you two were friends. And maybe, if looks don't deceive me, something more." Amy softened her voice as she added, "I know it's weird. But maybe…."  
"Maybe what?" Lucy asked sharply.  
"Maybe this is meant to be. The team, you taking down Rittenhouse, and even soldier boy. Maybe it's your destiny." Amy said.  
"I don't believe in that kind of stuff. True love. Sparkles. Fireworks. Fate. Destiny." Lucy replied.  
"Well, ok. I know you're gonna put your stubborn academic hat on." Amy grinned.  
"He said that he specifically saved me because I would be on the team someday. And I couldn't help be think there was something else there…" Lucy spoke more for her own benefit than Amy's.  
"There was. Believe me, there was." Amy smiled. "Don't look so scared. I'm not Mom. I'm not planning your wedding. You know I pull your leg all the time. I just want you to have some fun. And if that means having a great casual relationship with someone who makes you feel good then wonderful. If that means going and singing karaoke at a local bar and getting shit faced once in awhile, then great. If that means traveling through time, then great."  
"Has anyone told you that you're great?" Lucy gave Amy a hug.  
"I love the compliments." Amy snuggled closer and said, "Come on. Watch web series with me and have some fun."

xxxxxxx

"So what's your podcast about?" Jiya asked Amy the next morning while she made breakfast.  
"It's about theatre. I interview actors and directors and do reviews of local shows. That part will be difficult down here. Unless you're planning to form an acting troupe." Amy answered. She put down her knife with peanut butter and reached for some grape jelly.  
"Is the sound quality ok? I mean this is a bunker." Jiya finished microwaving her oatmeal and poured fruit all over it.  
"It's actually better than our apartment. I mean you are all reasonably quiet and the walls are thick." Amy shrugged. "But getting content is a little more difficult. I mean I could do a kick-ass vlog series. It's a pity this whole fighting Rittenhouse thing has to be a secret."  
"What would you do?" Flynn looked up from his weird sugary cereal that looked suspiciously like Fruit Loops.  
"I'd force all of you to appear on camera recounting your adventures. Complete with hats, fake mustaches, and funny accents. Also, I call dibs on having my camera on 24/7 and capturing every embarrassing moment." Amy giggled and then went on, "Don't worry. As fascinating as the 'Real Bunker Babes of San Fransico' would be Lucy would literally kill me. As would everyone else."  
"Yes, we would," Jiya said cheerfully.  
"So I'm just gonna keep interviewing people and hoping I can occasionally slip out of this hell hole to see a play."  
"I'll go with you." Lucy came in wearing an old flannel shirt and jeans and somehow looking absolutely adorable. He couldn't help smiling at her. She smiled back, just a little, before turning her attention back to her sister.  
"You'll need someone else to go with you," Jiya said. "Denise's rules."  
"She's basically your mom? Right? I bet she regrets this sooo much. I mean you're fine. I bet you cause her no trouble. But those two…." Amy pointed to Wyatt and Flynn, "She must be like….Oh god, why did I volunteer for this? Can I find a rock to hide under."  
Wyatt didn't comment since it was quite true. Denise probably regretted the day she ever entrapped them in a bunker. And it was equally true that he and Flynn had a distinctively antagonistic relationship that drove everyone else crazy. But it was totally Flynn's fault. He was a self-righteous, annoying bastard. "I'll go with you ladies," Wyatt said.  
Jiya looked shocked. Her mouth dropped open, "But you…"  
"Would enjoy the chance to get out." Wyatt glared at her. Jiya just started giggling.  
"What's so funny?" asked Lucy.  
"Wyatt, at the theatre. Unless the story is about cars or James Bond." Jiya was ignoring his angry glances.  
"Honestly I'd go to church if I could get an excuse to get out of here." Or a chance to spend time with Lucy without death, destruction or a bunch of intrusive bunker mates.  
"Great. I promise it will be more entertaining than church." Amy sighed, " I have a call in a few minutes."  
Lucy shook her head and laughed, "Amy's always been the wild one. Always the one to force me to get out more."  
"She was always telling you to stop listening to your mother so much," Flynn commented.  
Lucy froze. Her face registered a combination of panic and shock. "How did you know that?"  
"She must have told me," Flynn said attempting to smooth it over.  
"She didn't. I don't think she's said five words to you since she got here." Lucy's eyes narrowed. She looked deadly serious. Wyatt almost laughed as he realized that Lucy thought Flynn was hitting on Amy. And Lucy wasn't having that. Those Preston sisters took care of each other.  
"It's in the journal. You wrote it and gave it to me." Flynn said.  
"What the hell? I don't even keep a journal and if I did why on earth would I give it to you?" Lucy shook her head, "I don't get it."  
"I can't explain why or how. Simply that in about five or so years you're going to travel back on your own timeline and give me the journal in a bar in Sao Paulo, Brazil."  
Lucy kept blinking with her mouth open. "That's crazy. I just… why on earth…this can't be true."  
She turned abruptly and started walking down the hall. Wyatt followed not glancing back. Lucy wheeled on him and said, "So did you know about the journal?"  
"I know that Flynn had a journal. I have no clue as to what's in it." Wyatt confessed.  
"I feel invaded. It just gives me the creeps. I just ….I mean I already know that in your timeline I was on the team all along. It feels like everything in life is just one mistake away from disaster. I don't have control over anything." Lucy's hands shook as she placed them against the wall.  
"Tell me about it. Jessica, my wi….ex-wife was dead for six years in the other timeline." Wyatt tried not thinking about Jessica being dead. It was easier to remember her posting the occasional Facebook picture with her family or making plans to start her own bar. It made the guilt of ordering her out of the car less intense.  
"Oh…" Lucy looked astonished, "I'm so sorry. But I mean, I'm glad she's back."  
"Me too. Both for her sake and mine too. I needed to realize my marriage wasn't as perfect as I thought." Wyatt wanted to tell these things to the other Lucy. The one who he had abandoned by the fan in the bunker and had treated horribly. This Lucy would have to do.  
" You don't have to go with us. Amy is just really intense about theatre and acting and stuff like that. I mean I am used to it. But like, I know most people are bored by it." Lucy smiled and Wyatt thought this wide opened smile was the most gorgeous thing ever.  
"It's fine. I meant what I said. It will be nice to get out. And…" Wyatt paused feeling his heart start to pound nervously. He really didn't know this Lucy very well and she knew him even less. His track record with flirting wasn't exactly great. He had actually called her, "Not hideous". The fact that she hadn't thrown him in the pool was something of a surprise. "I mean I'd enjoy the company."  
"Amy is really entertaining. Nobody stays a stranger for long." Lucy commented.  
Wyatt wondered if she thought he was interested in her sister. He shook his head wondering if Lucy realized exactly how amazing she was. Probably not. Her mother had always painted her as "not good enough." Familiar feeling. And he had contributed to that by never telling her he loved her. Now it was probably too late. "I wasn't talking about Amy. Although I'm sure your right."  
Lucy blinked at him. She wasn't shy, not by a long shot, but her face expressed some astonishment. She probably wasn't expected such blatant flirting. She looked on the verge of saying something when the familiar alarm rang out. The Mothership had jumped. Wyatt felt like cursing. He had just made a little progress with her. Well, he had time. And maybe it was just as well. It was a little soon.

 **Author's Note: I know the really sad news on Monday about the cancelation really hurt. I still hope we can manage a movie or some sort of closure. But it's terrifically sad. Now my anger over that ending is growing. The only good thing is that they don't have a chance to mess up the characters anymore. I'll keep writing because I love these characters so much and that ending provides so much fodder for fanfic. Literally, any ship or event could be canon.**

 **Lucy and Amy have a chance to have a good conversation. Amy helps keep Lucy grounded and provides her the push she needs. Amy is also gay and well, thanks to Madsthenerdygirl I have a new pairing for her. Thanks, no thanks. Any guesses as to who?**

 **And Flynn... he tries so hard but he can't stop the creepy uncle thing lol. Lucy is justifiably confused and threatened because she really doesn't know him at all. Wyatt, stop being so cute and awkwardly flirting with her. Of course, he gets Clockblocked by the Mothership cause what Timeless fic wouldn't have that.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Summary: They go on another mission to stop Rittenhouse and Lucy starts asking questions.**

"Where did she go?" Rufus asked as they made their way back into the common area.  
"September 5, 1912, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin," Jiya announced.  
Lucy frowned as she stood there thinking. Finally, she pulled up the internet and said, " Charles Dawes's son Rufus, he was the vice president under Coolidge and Nobel Prize winner, drowned in Lake Geneva. But what would Rittenhouse have to do with that? Dawes is important. But why would they target his son?"  
"Unless they save his son. And in exchange, they get him to join them." Flynn said. "The Dawes's were prime Rittenhouse material. An old family that dates back to the founding of this country. If any family in this country was Rittenhouse they'd be a good one."  
"So you think the Dawes's were Rittenhouse but maybe Charles wasn't good enough and so they want to make him grateful by saving his son?" Rufus commented. "I mean the kid has my name so he has to be superior."  
"He was just 21 and his death had a profound impact on Charles. Charles was very important in both politics and business. The Dawes Plan was definitely not the best plan in terms of repayment with Germany but it had a tremendous impact on history. Changing that could have a crazy ripple effect. If he was more closely involved with Rittenhouse who knows what they would do? It could go either way. But definitely, it would change history." Lucy's voice had reverted to its professorial tones. It made him smile despite the seriousness of the situation. She sounded constantly so excited by history.  
It was a rough mission from the outset. He and Flynn got arrested for being anarchists. (Admittedly Flynn looked exactly like an anarchist and a dubiously moral Eastern European guy with a gun is probably actually threatening to the small town sheriff.) They managed to escape but not before Lucy and Rufus nearly got themselves killed by the sleeper agent.  
They managed to get inside the not very heavily guarded house that Charles Dawes stayed during the summer months and stood right outside the study door. They could hear Lucy speaking. Wyatt crept closer fighting the instantaneous fear that she would say or do something dangerous. He loved Lucy, really he did, but she could be a bit bad with the cover stories. So could he. They all needed Amy Preston in their lives to get their acting straight.  
"Miss. Cather, I'm afraid that it's too late. They have threatened my son. I have no choice but to go along with their requests." The man speaking had to be Charles Dawes himself.  
"At least delay a bit. Please," Lucy paused and went on, "That woman, I mean Miss Whitmore, is a very dangerous person. She is attempting to destroy our country. Nothing is worth that."  
"I see you don't have a family, Miss Cather. You'd feel differently if you did." He answered.  
"I have a sister I adore. I would do nearly anything for her." Lucy spoke with conviction. "That's why I am saying that if you just delay their request for a few days then it will be resolved. We hope to catch this woman and put her in jail. She and her friends are extremely dangerous."  
"I will do as you ask, Miss Cather. But if anything happens to my son as a result of your interference I may warn you that I will hold you morally responsible."  
Wyatt felt a little sick. The boy would die, of natural causes, in just a few hours time. And even though they would be long gone for Charles the pain would be just begun. "I would advise you to make sure your son doesn't go boating or on the lake for a few days. Rittenhouse is looking for an opportunity to arrange an accident." Lucy's voice was gentle and soothing.  
"That would be advisable. He went out today. It's such nice weather. But I will tell him when he gets back." Charles's voice was growing calmer under the influence of Lucy's personality.  
"Yes, that would be a good idea." Lucy's voice had grown even quieter. "Thank you for your time, sir."  
"Good Luck, Miss Cather." They could hear Lucy get up and presumably walk out the door.  
A few minutes later she and Rufus met them in the woods surrounding the lake where they hid the Lifeboat. Both of them looked sober.  
"Well?" asked Flynn. "What did you find out?"  
As if he hadn't overheard every single word. Lucy sighed, "He's holding off giving into Emma's demands. But his son is already on the water. I don't think we can save him."  
"We can try," Rufus said hopefully.  
"We can't change history like that," Lucy said.  
"To hell with it. If we can save that boy's life we should." Rufus replied.  
The old Lucy, the one that lost her sister, would probably have agreed. But this Lucy was still stubbornly sticking to the whole not changing history part. Finally, Wyatt said, "It can't hurt to at least steal a boat and go looking for him. We might be too late anyway."  
The sun was just setting as they made their rounds of the lake. There was no sign of the boy or the boat. Wyatt had a sinking feeling that the Dawes boy was already gone. Fate had intervened again. Finally, even Rufus gave up. Wyatt knew it was more than the fact that the boy and he shared the same name. It was about how Rufus was terrified that Jiya's vision would someday come true. Also because underneath it all Rufus was just a compassionate, good person.  
Lucy was silent as she fumbled with her seatbelt. Wyatt leaned over to help her. Finally, she said, "I know that you all think I'm horrible. Maybe I am? But I mean, changing the past could be disastrous. It could affect a whole lot more people than just one person. History is supposed to be fixed. Over. Done with. You can't change it. That's what I was taught. But now…it's not fixed. It's not done with."  
Flynn laughed, "Believe me. We've all done much worse. You're the only one of us who hasn't killed someone."  
The moment the Lifeboat landed in the present Lucy was stumbling down the stairs. "Did the boy die?" she asked.  
"Yes," Connor replied. " September 5, 1912. Died in a boating accident where he fell in the water and got tangled in some fishnets and drowned."  
Lucy's face underwent a change. Finally, she said, "I guess you were wrong. I did kill a person."  
"What do you mean?" Wyatt asked. "You weren't responsible for that."  
" I told Charles that his son would be fine. There was probably time to stop him. I tried convincing him that he shouldn't join Rittenhouse because his son would be fine. Rittenhouse knew he would die and that's why they threatened him. I thought, that maybe he would get angry at them and refuse." Lucy shook her head, "Did he join Rittenhouse?"  
Connor looked troubled, "I'm not certain as to your timeline versus ours but he was heavily involved in politics. And a few Dawes family members were part of Rittenhouse."  
"We can't be certain that they weren't already part of Rittenhouse," Wyatt assured her. "I mean looking at his Wikipedia profile it looks pretty much unchanged."  
Lucy shrugged and said, "Excuse me. I'd like to take off this dress."  
It was hard remembering this Lucy was so much less accustomed to violence and bloodshed than the one he knew. This woman was much closer to the woman who had implied that Jessica's death was fate. She'd learn, already had perhaps, but it saddened him to see her go through this transformation.  
A few hours later he tapped on the door she shared with Amy. Amy opened it and smiled at him, "So can you please convince my sister she isn't evil and horrible?"  
"I shouldn't have done that. Now I just made things worse. I don't belong in this job. I should be teaching." Lucy looked up at him.  
"Listen, this is your second mission. And believe me that you are still better than you were on your tenth mission in the other timeline. Plus you've always been good. There is no good way to deal with this. I mean, maybe that kid was fated to die. Or maybe it was Rittenhouse. There wasn't anything else you could do." Wyatt wanted to reach out and take her hand. But he couldn't. Lucy had only known him for a few days in her timeline.  
"I'm going to make some milkshakes. What kind do you want? Chocolate, vanilla or strawberry?" Amy stood up and went towards the door. "Don't you dare say you don't want one, Lucy. I'll stuff it down your throat myself."  
"I'll have a strawberry one," Lucy said. "Thank you, Amy."  
"I'm the best sister ever." Amy gave him a decided wink as she left the room and pointed obliquely to Lucy. Well, clearly her dislike of him had disappeared. Had Lucy told her that he had saved her life? She must have.  
"I just…I'm just still trying to wrap my head around my other timeline self," Lucy confessed. She opened her mouth and started to speak. Then she closed her mouth again and shook her head. "Nevermind."  
"What?" Wyatt asked.  
"It's just, Emma implied some weird stuff. I didn't understand what she was saying. I mean I know we were probably friends in that other timeline but were we..uh..dating? I know you mentioned that in that timeline your wife was dead." Lucy looked down, seemingly embarrassed. This was like Noah all over again. Except, in this case, he was Noah. He almost felt sorry for the guy except that he had abused Lucy.  
How could he possibly explain it? Technically they had a twenty-four-hour relationship. But it had been going on much longer than that. They had played with "possibilities" for months. Describing their odd relationship in terms of dating seemed weird. Especially since they hadn't been on a standard date. He hadn't taken her to dinner, she hadn't dragged him to a museum and they hadn't posted sappy pictures on Facebook. The closest thing to a date had been Hedy Lemarr's guest house. That had been a pretty epic date even if it had technically been work.  
"Uh…" Wyatt took a deep breath racking his brain for an explanation that didn't completely freak her out. It was way too soon to explain the intricacies of their relationship.  
"So I managed to find some chocolate syrup but your weird roommate, that guy who talks like Lucy is some sort of character in his self-insert fan fiction, was all pissy over me using it." Amy came into the room balancing three glasses on a tray. Wyatt stood up to help her with it. Amy was clearly experienced in handling trays. She was probably a waitress. Jessica had been amazing at balancing dishes without dropping a single one. Well, technically, she still was. Probably knee deep in plans for her bar and grill.  
"You mean Flynn?" Lucy asked as she excepted the glass. For the first time, Wyatt was actually glad of being interrupted. It was way too complicated to explain so soon.  
"Yeah, I guess. I mean I do see the appeal. Even though I'm gay as hell. But honestly, he seems like bad news. Dead wife problems…And the whole killing people thing. And apparently according to Rufus he got him shot." Amy shook her head and grinned, "I mean if I wanted to find a murderous female I guess Emma is available."  
"Please, no…" Lucy shook her head. "She tried to kill me."  
"I know. But I'm just saying if this was a heterosexual story everyone would be shipping us." Amy laughed at Wyatt's frown of disgust. "Hey don't be homophobic. We'd look cute together."  
"Ugh…" Lucy rolled her eyes and said, "What about that girl you met online? She seemed nice."  
Amy sighed, "She was nice and we're still friends. But she's moving to Paris and we decided to break up. So I'm single again. That's ok though. It'd be hard to explain why I'm living in an underground bunker and then she might end up being an evil Rittenhouse spy or something."  
Wyatt left after a few minutes. He was actually somewhat relieved Amy had interrupted them. He had to think of some sort of explanation for his timeline before Lucy questioned him. She was sure to do so. Lucy had been distracted by all the crazy things going on but that didn't mean she didn't remember. She had a phenomenal memory.  
He found Jiya watching a cooking show while Rufus snoozed beside her. Wyatt wasn't exactly a chef but he did know how to cook. Living alone for nearly six years had made him learn how to make basic foods. He was still better than Lucy or Connor. Jiya liked watching cooking shows but had never made a single thing. Her cooking skills mostly extended to spaghetti and smoothies.  
"So how is Lucy settling in here?" Jiya flipped off the TV and turned to him.  
Wyatt shrugged. It was hard to tell. He thought she was managing pretty well but Lucy had always been good at pretending. It was impossible to tell behind that smile if she was really ok.  
"At least she has her sister," Jiya commented. "Rufus told me in the other timeline she was gone."  
"Yeah, I mean it's kinda weird. Somehow we saved Amy. We didn't even try to." Wyatt still hadn't figured out what they had changed in the mission to not only mean Lucy never ended up on the team but that Amy would live.  
"So how're things with her and you?" Jiya smiled impishly.  
"Fine." He replied. Jiya rolled her eyes.  
"Come on. I know about Hollywoodland and Hedy Lemarr. Rufus told me." Wyatt resisted the impulse to wake Rufus up and tell him exactly what he thought of his gossip. It made sense that no one would have talked about it before. Jessica had been back then and everyone in the bunker would have been horrified if they had found out. Afterward, Lucy was just a stranger to everyone except him and Rufus and Flynn.  
"You know things have changed." He whispered back. Jiya sighed.  
"Yeah, well how much? I mean you managed to win her over with your incredibly bad flirting skills and angsty sadness. I can tell she already thinks you're hot. So… what's wrong with trying?" Jiya smiled and said, "As long as your feelings haven't changed. I mean with…"  
Wyatt shook his head. "I don't know. But how do I explain it? Emma basically tipped her hand and now she's starting to ask questions. You know Lucy. The minute she is suspicious she's like a dog with a bone."  
Jiya frowned, "I mean just tell her the truth. What else can you do?"  
"Yeah," he said.  
Eventually, he left the room. Rufus was still out and Jiya simply curled up on the couch next to him and was asleep in a few minutes. They were ridiculously cute together in that annoying way that actually restored his belief in happy relationships. He was strangely lonely in a crowded bunker. There was nothing more lonely than being alone among a crowd.

 **Author's Note: So I may have been a trifle self-indulgent in this mission. I'm actually very distantly related to the Dawes family and they were actually very important people. They seem like the type of family that would be Rittenhouse. Obviously, I made up the whole interchange between Lucy and Charles. I wanted to bring up the whole fate vs. choice thing again. You can see that Lucy is basically the same person but she hasn't been through the same experiences that the other Lucy did. So she's still a bit green. Amy still cracks me up. She's got everyone in the bunker's number. If only she'd met Wyatt before when he too had "dead wife problems". I adore her so much. I also love the Jiya/Wyatt conversation. Jiya is really very wise and smart and unlike Rufus, she's willing to call Wyatt out on his BS. Rufus tends to back down. I think of Jiya as Wyatt's very sweet but tough as nails little sis.**  
 **This fic won't be too much longer. We know from the writers that Lucy fell for Wyatt really early on and since he's already in love with her there isn't need for a ton of further conflict. But who knows what will happen with the timelines?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Summary: Lucy and Wyatt discuss the other timeline.**

Lucy had only been on two missions but she was already stressed as anything over what had happened. In her first mission they had nearly died and in her second she hadn't been able to stop a teenage boy from dying and another important person from getting recruited to Rittenhouse. She also wasn't sure how to react to the fact that in another timeline she was part of the team. She also didn't know how to deal with the idea that, at least according to Emma, she and Wyatt were more than friends.

When she thought about it critically she realized it wasn't so weird. Wyatt had a strange pull on her, had done so practically from their first meeting. He had saved her life. And furthermore, in some strange way she trusted him. She already fully trusted Rufus. But Rufus was just a trustworthy type of person. He was the type of person she'd invariably trust and even want to be friends with. Wyatt was different. He was a soldier, reckless and hot-headed and had absolutely nothing in common with her. Yet she found herself gravitating towards him. Found herself smiling and unable to look away. She still didn't really trust Flynn. He seemed to have a creepy knowledge of her life and future that left her unsettled. He was effective at his job. She had to give him that. He was also pretty funny. Lucy knew he had lost his family due to Rittenhouse. She could only hope that he'd someday get them back.

Lucy sat up and glanced at Amy's bed. Her sister was sound asleep and snoring. Lucy smiled and decided to get up for a little while. Maybe a cup of tea or hot chocolate would soothe her long enough to sleep. She padded out to the kitchen area and set the kettle on the stove. While she waited for it to boil she peaked into the common room. Wyatt was stretched out on the couch but she suspected he wasn't asleep. His eyes blinked open and he said, "Are you ok?"

Lucy felt a little embarrassed having been caught watching him. She honestly hadn't meant to be a creeper. Lucy hesitated and came forward. "Yeah, I just can't sleep. Thought a cup of tea would help."

He sat up himself and motioned to a chair. Lucy sat down with her feet tucked up under her but said, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't asleep. I don't sleep much." Lucy noticed the edge to his voice and wondered how many sleepless nights he spent due to all the things he had seen in war.

"Would you like some tea?" she asked. Wyatt didn't strike her as a tea drinker but it was only polite to ask. "Or some hot chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate would be great." He gave her an encouraging smile as she went back into the kitchen. Lucy was a terrible cook but she could manage tea and packaged hot chocolate. Amy was the cook of the family. Her mother had been good at cooking too. Lucy pushed the thought away. Her mother's death had hurt but Lucy knew it could have been worse. If her mother had been more deeply involved in Rittenhouse her life would have been even more difficult.

She set the mugs down on the coffee table and she blew on hers gently to cool it. "So…um… what um… happened between us? That stuff Emma was talking about?"

She could see him pull away slightly and look nervous. That was odd because Wyatt was never nervous. Emma could have a gun pointed at his head and he always kept his emotions in check. She admired that quality because it definitely wasn't one she shared.

"It's a long story." He began slowly.

"I'm not busy. Of course, you're probably tired…" Lucy just wanted to know. She wanted to know what had happened.

"So our first mission was to stop Flynn from messing up the Hindenburg." Wyatt began. Lucy sat up straighter.

"Flynn? You mean the Flynn living here now?" She questioned.

"Yeah, he was definitely on the enemy list back then. Hense why he's not exactly on my and Rufus's favorite people list." Wyatt replied.

"We hadn't ever met each other. I was just sitting in the waiting room of Mason Industries when this woman walks in. She's protesting loudly and keeps asking me questions. Definitely doesn't like being called "ma'am". And within five minutes we were told time travel is real and to step into a time machine to go back to the 1930's. It was pretty unbelievable. We ended up getting arrested and while in jail you kept asking me about why I was so interested in Kate Drummond. I told you it was about Jessica, my now ex-wife. She was dead in that timeline. Kate really didn't look that much like Jessica but for some reason, I felt like she was like Jessica. And I was so guilty over her death I felt like I had to save Kate. She ended up dying anyway. But something that happened on the Hindenburg erased Amy from existence."

"What? What are you talking about?" Lucy felt grief hit her heart as she looked at him. He had told his story slowly as if he was gathering together a bunch of memories and trying to line them up properly. But this…This was personal to her.

"Something Flynn did changed history and erased Amy. She was never born. And we never got the opportunity to bring her back. Rittenhouse stole the Mothership and you got kidnapped." Wyatt's voice had all the sadness in the world. Lucy fought back panic. The idea that her sister could be erased again struck her.

"We went to the Alamo and you saved my life. I wanted to stay. Didn't feel like there was much to live for with Jess gone and it seemed like the right thing to do. But you refused. You just grabbed my hand and ordered me to come with. Said that you and Rufus needed me." Lucy couldn't imagine how much pain Wyatt must have been under to do that. It was sad his marriage had fallen apart after all the grief.

"Then I got mad at Rufus because he was secretly recording our conversations for Rittenhouse because they were blackmailing him. And you hid your conversations with Flynn over the journal. I felt like I couldn't trust either of you. But the Flynn stranded us in the 18th century for a week. We were forced to patch up our differences. That's when we became a real team." Lucy put her mug on the table and rested her head on the seat. It was a really awkward pretzel shape she was putting herself into but she found his voice soothing and the story was so incredible it felt almost fictional.

"Then we had to pretend to be married for Bonnie and Clyde." Wyatt began.

"You mean The Bonnie and Clyde," Lucy questioned.

"Yeah, we were posing as fellow criminals. And I was still dealing with Jessica's death and I wasn't too happy about putting on a play. But we had to. And no matter how many times I told myself it was just acting and it wasn't real it sure felt real. And that scared me to death. I wasn't ever going to feel like that after losing Jessica. Flynn captured you right afterward. We managed to get you back but it was…" Wyatt paused and took another sip of her really poor attempt at hot chocolate. "We were. I was so damn worried."

Lucy digested this in silence. It was clear that this other Lucy had a long and intimate history with Wyatt and Rufus. But it was different for Wyatt. She wasn't blind to the way he looked at her. The secret smile that always looked so soft and content. What had her other timeline self felt for him? Had she been in love? Lucy didn't know but it would have been hard pressed for her not to have been. Lucy hadn't known him a long time but she already felt drawn to him.

"That's why I took the time machine to try to get Jessica back. I wouldn't let you come with because I was afraid that you'd get into trouble with Christopher and lose your opportunity to get Amy back. I remember wondering why it was so damn hard to say goodbye. And it ended up not working. Jessica didn't come back. I…I got arrested but Christopher bailed me out and you and Rufus vouched for me." Lucy tried imaging what her other timeline self must have felt. She almost could feel the sadness as she contemplated saying goodbye.

"After that, I kinda accepted that she wasn't coming back. We started getting closer. Spending more time together. Usually with Rufus who was dating Jiya but sometimes by ourselves. Then your mother revealed herself as Rittenhouse, Emma stole the Mothership from Flynn and your mother kidnapped you. I was sitting there waiting for you to come and get Amy back and you didn't come. Then Mason Industries blew up. Both Rufus and I were nearly killed. If we hadn't been inside the Lifeboat we'd have died."

Lucy gasped. The idea of her mother kidnapping her tore through her heart. She had known of her mother's connection to Rittenhouse but not the extent to which this timeline version of Carol Preston had been attached to it.

"I went a little crazy when you were gone. Everyone kept saying you were dead. But I didn't believe it."

"Why?" Lucy asked. "Why didn't you?"

"Because I felt like I'd feel if you were dead. I just knew you were alive. And you needed me. That's when we transferred to this bunker. I stole a blow torch from Rufus to try to get out. Didn't work and Christopher caught me. Told her to court-martial me. Then the Mothership jumped so it ended up being a moot point. But I was determined to bring you home."

It was all pretty overwhelming. Lucy didn't know how to react. She appreciated his honesty but the idea that all these things had happened and she didn't know it made her heartache. It felt like something was missing. She could read the fear and desperation between the lines. No one except Amy had ever treated her as if she was special. Not her mother who was always implying she wasn't good enough. And certainly not Noah who had never thought she ever measured up. She smiled a little at him. It was nice to feel important to someone else.

"And then we saw you. You had a grenade in your hands because you were planning to blow up the Mothership with you and your mother on it. But you were alive. And we managed to get you away. But it had been a horrible experience. There was a hard adjustment."

"Wow. I can't imagine myself stealing a grenade to blow myself up." Lucy tried imaging herself doing that. It almost seemed as if that person was someone else. Someone vastly more badass than she.

"You did." Wyatt gave her a fond glance. "You're pretty badass you know."

"She's badass. I'm not." Lucy commented.

"Hmm, I seem to remember you've saved my life at least once and held your end on the team. So yeah, any variation of Lucy Preston is badass." Lucy found herself blushing at the praise. She had never once thought of herself as badass.

Lucy kept waiting for him to go on. She could tell it was difficult. What had happened? "You don't have to tell me," she said encouragingly.

"It's just…it might be uncomfortable…for you." He answered.

She had a feeling of what he was driving at. And some weird part of her was desperate to know if her suspicions were true. It was almost as if she was looking at her life on screen. She wasn't sure how she felt about it. "Try me."

"After you came back, things were different. I guess I wasn't so tied down to the past. But there wasn't really any opportunity to talk because people were constantly interrupting." Lucy suspected it was a little more than talking from the way he wouldn't meet her eyes. It was cute how he was embarrassed to talk about it to her. Maybe it wasn't embarrassment so much as fear she'd be embarrassed. And truth be told it did feel as if he was talking about another person. She suddenly really wanted to be this other Lucy. The one who was on the cusp of a romance and knew what she was doing.

"We were back in 41' and at Hedy Lemarr's house after trying to save Citizen Cane."

"Wait? Hedy Lemarr…actor and inventor. The most powerful woman in the world?" Lucy couldn't keep the fangirling inside. Hedy Lemarr had been her idol growing up. She was gorgeous and smart and so inspirational.

"Yeah, although when we met her she ended up dying alone and penniless. But yeah, we were staying at her house for the night. And I finally managed to stop being a coward long enough to tell you how much you had done for me. How you saved me." Lucy could feel the emotion in his voice which surprised her because here was this hardened soldier talking about her as if she was some sort of angel. She found herself turning in her chair and putting her hands on his.

"That night…Lucy. Was just beautiful. And you were…we were so happy. But then I had to go and screw it all up." Lucy refused to let him pull away. She could already see the openness that had revealed itself in his eyes disappearing. She felt she owed it to her other self to hold on.

"What happened?" She whispered.

"Jessica came back. She sent me a text asking where I was. And I just left. Barely said anything. I just couldn't believe it. I thought it had to have been some prank. But there she was. And she served me divorce papers. Of course, I couldn't just let her walk out like that. So I brought her back to the bunker. And you went on a mission without me. You came back injured. And then something we did in the 30's messed up the timeline enough that you never joined the team. Found ourselves with a new historian we had never met." Wyatt shook his head. "I keep wondering what else I could have done. Lots of things. But at the time it seemed like a good idea."

Lucy laughed softly, "It always seems like a good idea, at first. Was I…I mean I'm sure I was upset?"

"I don't know. I never got a chance to talk to you. You immediately told me to go fix things. That it was some sort of miracle. That's the kind of person you are."

Lucy sat there for a long time trying to digest this information. It was overwhelming. She could feel her other self's pain and desperation all of the sudden. She didn't like the feeling at all. She wondered at this other self. Had she just given herself up and allowed herself to fall in love? Or had she spent all her time worrying about the next shoe dropping?

"Wow. I mean, this feels very overwhelming." Lucy didn't know what else to say. She had expected to find out she had been in a relationship with someone she barely knew to be creepy or invasive. Instead, she found herself feeling curious. She glanced over at Wyatt. He was still stretched out on the couch looking a little nervous. Probably was worried she'd be angry or freak out. And if anyone else had said this she probably would be. But somehow it felt different. And she didn't like that. She didn't know him. Suddenly she very much wanted to know exactly what her other self must have known. The way his kisses felt, the touch of hands on her body and the way those gorgeous eyes looked lit with passion. Lucy tried pushing away those thoughts. It was way too soon, regardless of what Amy said, and she needed to be absolutely certain. It wasn't like he was some person she met in a bar.

"I mean, yeah, it's kinda crazy. This whole time travel thing." Wyatt said a little awkwardly as if he was trying to push the emotions away. Lucy met his eyes and gave him a tiny smile. He smiled back, just as softly. She felt drawn in and mesmerized by it. Lucy was about to throw caution to the winds and lean in. She wanted to know, darn it. There was a sharp rattle. Both of them started in surprise. Lucy realized belatedly that it was just the sound of the generator that powered the Lifeboat and equipment.

"I guess I better go to bed." She said reluctantly. She wasn't remotely sleepy. But apparently, she wasn't able to be trusted late at night after a long and emotional conversation. Lucy stood up and said, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Lucy." She felt like both of them were saying more. They just didn't have the words to say.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy slipped back into bed to find Amy with her eyes wide open watching her. Amy was always a light sleeper and Lucy had never been able to avoid those eagle eyes for long. "Have fun?" She teased.

Lucy flushed, thankful that it was dark enough that Amy probably couldn't see. Considering the direction of her thoughts Lucy was thankful that her sister couldn't actually read her mind. "We talked about the other timeline."

"And…" Amy trailed off.

"You got erased from history. Mom was evil. We were in a relationship. Jessica came back." Lucy didn't know how to process it all. The idea that her sister was erased made her stomach hurt like crazy. The sensation made her want to weep.

"Wow. That's a lot to take in." Amy commented. She got up and crawled into bed with Lucy. Lucy buried her head in her sister's hair as Amy wrapped her arms around her. "I'm here. Right now. I don't intend to get erased again."

The idea that Amy could get erased any second terrified Lucy. She blinked back more tears. "At least soldier boy admitted that he loves you, didn't he?" Amy was trying to distract her and Lucy was grateful. There was no use getting upset over something that happened to her other timeline self.

"No, not in so many words. But I mean I guess he liked me enough to want to date me. Though not when Jessica came back. But they broke up anyway. God, it's complicated." Lucy didn't doubt that Wyatt liked her. It was shocking to her. Nobody outside of Noah and the occasional college date had ever liked her. And Noah had been more interested in turning her into some sort of carbon Rittenhouse image. It was nice to be liked. It gave her a warm feeling in her chest to see his smiles.

"You like him too." Amy cooed in excitement. "I knew it."

"It's too soon. I barely know him. We've known each other three weeks." Lucy protested. Amy only laughed. And it was true they'd been through several life or death missions together. She'd seen him in action and knew more about his past than most people she'd known for years. And her other timeline self had trusted him. Had loved him. Lucy felt sure of that.

"This is about Noah, isn't it?" Amy questioned. Lucy sighed. Amy was too perceptive sometimes.

"I guess. I mean I thought he was great until he wasn't." Lucy buried her face in the pillow and groaned. "This is way too complicated."

"Noah was always a jerk. And I'm not saying Wyatt's not capable of being a jerk. Hey, we all are. And if his wife was still around I'd say stay the hell away. But I think you'll be ok. I don't want to see you freaked out constantly over people so you can't even date at all."

"We're co-workers." Lucy protested.

"Please…" Amy shook her head. "Rufus and Jiya are dating. You need to think up something better."

Lucy laughed softly. It was so good to have her sister in her life. She'd never stop being grateful to fate or God for bringing her sister back. She fell asleep with Amy still complaining in her ear and smelling the scent of Amy's shampoo. It was just like old times. When they were children and exchanging secrets in bed under the covers.

 **Author's Note: Thanks to the lovely enablers on the Lyattverse group chat I'm updating this fic. And it's a really cool chapter at least to me. I know it might seem a little weird that Wyatt actually is talking so much but how else would Lucy find out since no one else knows these things. And he's trying hard not to embarrass her over this stuff. Lucy, of course, is intrigued and wants to explore those possibilities. Have I mentioned how much I love Amy yet? She's the best sister and I love writing their relationship so much. Poor Lucy. This is all a lot to take in.**


	12. Chapter 12

It was a good morning. Wyatt found himself whistling as he made his coffee that morning. Jiya came into the room to make her morning smoothie and grinned. "Slept well? Or not well?"  
Wyatt caught the mischievous look in her eyes and tried to play it cool. He knew he failed when she broke into laughter. "Oh yeah, I slept great. Never better."  
"That's a miracle considering how uncomfortable that couch is," Jiya commented. "Unless you didn't sleep on that couch, eh?"  
"I did." He protested. Jiya only shook her head.  
"You do realize you're hopeless."  
"What do you mean?" He asked.  
"You are acting like a fifteen-year-old with a crush."  
That was embarrassing. No wonder Lucy had run away so quickly. It had seemed as if she had understood and was trying to process things but now it was just a mess. Jiya took pity on him and added, "For the record, that's ok. Girls don't mind that as long as it's not creepy or you play the 'nice guy' card. Rufus is the world's most awkward and nerdy guy and I love him because he's that way. I wouldn't want him to change."  
"Yeah, well things are pretty complicated right now." He confessed.  
"I know. Time travel is crazy. But you've changed a lot in the last year. I've seen it. I know I don't remember the timeline where Jessica was dead but Rufus described it and I saw the kind of guy you were back then. Drinking a lot, surly, and pretty damn annoying. I didn't understand why Rufus was friends with you. And then I saw you make an effort with Jessica, something you didn't do before. Even though it didn't work it showed you actually cared. And you stopped drinking so much and being such an asshole." Jiya finished blending her smoothie and took a huge sip. Wyatt cringed as he looked at that horrible green concoction. He was all for healthy food but that was going a little far.  
" Thanks for the vote of confidence." He stood up. He knew Rufus was a large part of why he'd changed. And Jiya was in there too.  
His phone rang disturbing the morning silence and he swiped across to answer it. It was Jessica and he started to worry since Jessica was never up this early. As a bartender, she was a night owl who never got up before ten on pain of death. "Hello."  
"I got the lease." She said before he could ask if she was ok.  
"Oh my god. Congratulations." Wyatt knew how much she'd fought to get her business from the planning stages into reality.  
"It's just unreal. I was up last night all night cleaning and packing stuff. I got the call last night but I knew you'd be up early. I'm going to bed for a couple of hours. I'll call you later. I found a bunch of your old stuff. I can pack the car up and run it by you. The stuff you don't want I can add to my yard sale."  
"Sure. I can't be sure about what time since the Mothership could jump anytime. But call me and if I'm here I'll do that. I'll have to run it by Christopher but I don't think it'll be a problem. I mean you didn't kill us all the last time you were here." It was such a relief knowing that Jessica was happy and living her life.  
"Of course. And there is a bunch of stuff that might be useful to the others. That place could be spruced up a bit. Never thought I'd say IKEA furniture is a step up." Jessica's voice trailed off and he heard a loud squeak of moving furniture and a mumbled curse from her.  
"We'll talk later. Now go to bed before you drop." He shook his head and hung up after her sleepy goodbye.  
"Is everything ok?" He noticed Jiya had left the kitchen and Lucy was standing there making her morning tea. Lucy wasn't much of a coffee drinker and when she did drink it was full of milk and sugar. He'd used to joke that Lucy drank coffee flavored hot milk with sugar.  
"Yeah, Jessica is cleaning the house and planning to move to LA. She just got the lease on her location to start the bar and grill. So she's bringing some of my old stuff and some stuff she thinks might be good around here."  
Lucy nodded but he noticed a hint of something in her face as she turned away. He couldn't put his finger on what her expression meant. "That's nice of her. This place could definitely use a makeover."  
He didn't understand her sudden discomfort. But Jiya only nodded knowingly. Sometimes Jiya intuitiveness, beyond her visions, was too much. It was hard to deal with. Lucy got her cereal and poured it into a bowl. She looked at him meaningfully and said, "It must be nice to see her again."  
"Yeah," he replied. It was nice to see Jessica but they had changed a lot since they were two kids up against the world. They no longer had the same things tying them together. Then there was Lucy. It was enough to know Jessica was alive and well and happy.  
Emma jumped again but only for a few minutes. That was ominous. Probably she was dropping off sleeper agents. There was no time to follow before she was back in the present.  
Jessica dropped by late in the afternoon with his stuff. It wasn't really a surprise he'd left these things behind. He'd always kept his personal possessions light since his constant moving around made having lots of stuff inconvenient. It was more than that. It was a way of avoiding the past. There was a box of stuff from childhood. A baby blanket his mother made, a small baseball mitt and ball and a well-worn collection of Hardy Boys and James Bond books. There was a shirt with a panda on it that Jessica bought him years ago. It was all from the past, weighed down by memories. He opened the second box. Mementos from his military years. Postcards, a few souvenirs and a shoebox full of pictures.  
"Thanks." He said. "It's weird seeing all this." Jessica nodded before motioning him over to help her get the couch out of her SUV. Rufus came out to help out and examined it critically, "Should I be worried about this couch? I mean, is it clean?"  
Jessica laughed and patted Rufus on the back, "No worries. Haven't you noticed that Wyatt is a total neat freak? I'm not. Obviously. But that couch is cleaner than most. And I hate it. It's so fucking ugly."  
"It is ugly. It looks like a green monster threw up on it." Rufus frowned. "Man, why did you buy this?"  
"It was cheaper than the brown one. And it's not that bad." Wyatt tried defending himself.  
"Yes, it is that bad," Jiya commented.  
Jessica seemed happy to see Jiya. They'd kind of become friends during the months Jessica was living in the bunker. Wyatt still wasn't sure what would happen if Lucy and Jessica got in the same room. His brain would probably explode or something. It was crazy since Jessica didn't know about Lucy and Lucy only knew Jessica as his formerly dead ex-wife and he was practically a stranger to her anyway.  
"Our new historian, Lucy Preston. And her sister Amy." Wyatt introduced Jessica who smiled warmly at them. This was going to be a weird evening.  
"So what kind of restaurant are you opening up?" Amy seemed to notice the conversation might be getting a little stilted so she dove right in. Wyatt had never been more grateful to the youngest Preston sister.  
"It's a vegan barbeque bar and grill." Jessica began. "You know ever since I became a vegan I've missed barbeque so much. And now I'm really excited because down in LA there is one of the biggest communities of vegans. Of course, there is a big community of vegans here but I love LA. It's so exciting."  
"Barbeque and vegan don't belong in the same sentence. It's like a dentist and fun." Flynn shook his head before finding some other poor soul to torture. Jessica didn't seem offended. If there was ever a time that Wyatt actually agreed with Flynn then this was it. He always forgot Flynn had grown up in Texas.  
"You'll do great in LA. Just you'll hate the traffic. The top conversation in LA is always traffic. Not the weather. It's always 85 degrees and sunny. And the beaches are crowded and stinky and horrible but hey it's California and everything costs ten times as much." Amy shrugged and added, "I'll be sure to stop by when I'm not living in this hell hole."  
Lucy glanced over at him uneasily, her nervousness abundantly evident in her attitude. It had to be incredibly awkward to have heard that story of "his" timeline and now to have Jessica back, very much alive. He was still just that guy who saved her life and seemed to have some creepy connection to her. There wasn't anything else about it.  
"I better show you one more box." Wyatt knew Jessica well enough to know she wanted to talk to him privately.  
"Ok, so you want to talk about her?" Jessica confronted him with all the tact of a bull bearing down on a fence.  
"Huh?" He questioned.  
"The new historian you were staring at as if she was a freaking goddess. You couldn't keep your eyes off of her. It was really disgustingly cute." Jessica crossed her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes. "How long has this been going on? She wasn't here when I was here."  
"She's only been here for three weeks," Wyatt replied.  
"But you've known her for longer, haven't you?" Jessica asked.  
"She was the historian in the original timeline." He finally answered.  
"And you were in love with her? Apparently still are." Jessica sighed and looked at him. "You know it would have been nice if you'd have told me."  
"You were dead. Lucy saved my life. I felt so lost without you. I spent years drinking too much and filled with guilt over what happened. And then Lucy stormed into my life like a bossy storm cloud and I started traveling through time, which I promise is the weirdest thing ever. And yeah, things changed. I stopped getting so obsessed by the past." He saw her face soften and she sighed.  
"And you two were together?"  
"Yes, but only for less than twenty-four hours. Then I left her standing there to find you. And then when I came back she'd gone on a mission and got injured in Salem. Then I had to go with Flynn and Rufus to save JFK and when I came back she was gone." Wyatt swallowed hard trying not to remember that moment. The pain of knowing Lucy was forever lost to him. "She lost Amy in my timeline. I couldn't have brought the timeline back and if I had she'd have ended up losing her sister again."  
"You love her." It wasn't a question. Silently he nodded. She reached out and patted his shoulder a little awkwardly. "You know if you'd just told me it would have spared all of us a lot of trouble."  
"I called Lucy right before I brought you to the bunker. She'd been trying to contact me probably because Emma jumped. And she told me she was happy for me. That she was glad I could finally be happy. So I mean I guess I decided that I had to make things work between us. I couldn't just give up on my marriage."  
"You knew if I found out I would have left. Because I would have known that it was pointless to keep trying." Jessica sighed. "That was selfish, Wyatt. I spent all this time wondering what went wrong. We were actually communicating. But your heart wasn't in it. You were never present with me. I know now it was because you were mourning her. But if I had known it would have made things easier."  
"I'm sorry." Wyatt knew she was right. He'd tried to hold on to Jessica because he didn't want to be alone. Because he wanted the guilt to go away.  
"Well, at least I know now." She started to move towards the bunker. "And by the way, if you want to get anywhere you better make your move. A woman like that definitely isn't waiting around for you to figure things out."  
He nodded cryptically as she walked away. Things certainly hadn't changed. Jessica was still blunt and no-nonsense.

Lucy felt more and more uncomfortable attempting to chat with Jessica. She was abundantly grateful to Amy for keeping up the conversation. Jessica was so beautiful and confident it reminded her of all those girls in school she'd envied. No wonder Wyatt hadn't been able to forget her. Something suspiciously like jealousy curled in her gut making it difficult to speak. She could only imagine what her other self would have felt seeing them interact. How painful it must have been. It was painful enough now and she'd known Wyatt only a short time.  
She saw them walk off together and forced herself to turn away back to the bunker. Amy didn't say anything even though Lucy knew Amy knew she was upset. Sometimes Amy could actually keep her mouth shut when she knew speaking would only make things worse. This was such a time. Lucy saw her sister glance back at her. "Listen, they are divorced. So stop worrying your pretty little head about it."  
"I'm fine. I'm absolutely not upset." Lucy's tone sounded anything but fine. Amy laughed and they both grinned.  
Lucy found her way into the kitchen to make some more tea. It gave her something to do instead of worrying about her ridiculous crush on a guy she'd only met a few weeks ago. It had been completely foolish for her to think that Wyatt cared for her. Maybe he'd cared for the Lucy he'd known. The way more badass version that'd bonded with him over the death of his wife. But she was a different person. He'd ended up leaving that Lucy behind anyway.  
"You know you don't have to be jealous." She whirled around clutching the teapot and nearly sending it flying to the floor. Jessica was standing there, a slightly amused expression on her face.  
"What?" Lucy flushed and unsteadily set the teapot on the stovetop.  
"I finally know what happened. Wyatt finally told me the whole complicated story about you disappearing and all that. Has he told you?" Jessica sat down at the table.  
"Yes, he told me what happened." Lucy hastened to add, "But I'm sure that he never stopped loving you. I mean he stole a time machine to get you back."  
Jessica laughed, "You don't need to try to make me feel better. We're divorced. Our marriage just stopped working. I just didn't know why. And now I do. I kept wondering why it felt like he was a million miles away. I mean even at our worst before we weren't distant. I just didn't realize you were the cause. I mean how could I? I didn't even know you existed."  
Lucy felt like Jessica was blaming her for something she'd never done. She hadn't known Wyatt back then. She took a sip of scalding tea and regretted it when the heat seared her mouth. The pain kept her from answering for a second. "I didn't know that existed either. I was living an ordinary life in Los Angeles."  
"Listen, the idiot loves you. I mean he can't stop staring at you. And I know he's really bad at actually saying something but that doesn't mean he doesn't care. And yeah, I know you've only known him a short time but considering how jealous you are I think it's not all one-sided." Jessica tugged impatiently at her handbag strap. "If you want anything to happen you better make a move. Cause otherwise, you'll be waiting forever."  
Lucy hesitated. She didn't understand why Jessica was being so nice. "Yeah, um, ok."  
"I just want him to be happy, ok. And that doesn't mean you have to date him just cause you feel sorry for him. I'm just saying that I think both of us deserve a second chance at life." Jessica stood up and said, "It's nice talking to you, Lucy."

Lucy found herself muttering something even she didn't understand. Jessica didn't give her time to gather her scattered thoughts before she was off again. Lucy saw her drive off through one of the tiny windows in the kitchen. She finished her tea trying to figure out the other woman's cryptic sentences. So Wyatt really did like her. The thought made her face flush. It was just like being in high school. This was ridiculous. She was acting so silly. Somehow though, her heart was saying she had to take Jessica's advice and actually make a move. In this line of work, they couldn't count on anything.

 **Author's Note: I bet you guys thought I'd never finish this story. Well, I've finished it and will be posting updates frequently. I'm really excited because I was stuck on this story for the longest time. I am completing a lot of writing for NaNoWrMo.**  
 **I thought this conversation between Wyatt, Lucy, and Jessica was important because it finally allows Wyatt to make peace with Jessica and move forward and Lucy to know that his marriage with Jessica really is over. Lucy is so jealous but she's trying to hide it because she's only known him a short period of time. We know from Arika, one of the writers, that she started really falling for him in episode 1.05 which was the Alamo. So I think Lucy just falls for him fast in any timeline.**

 **Note: I posted this chapter some time ago on AO3 but forgot to transfer it over.**


	13. Chapter 13

There was a noticeable shift in Lucy's demeanor for the next weeks. Wyatt noticed her glancing at him openly, a clear question in her eyes. They lingered on him way longer than was necessary. He started making breakfast roughly the same time as her and they'd spend the time talking. The small kitchen meant they were constantly colliding and Lucy was always clumsy. It didn't feel awkward to bump against each other. If anything it felt comfortable and familiar. It was all he could do to stop himself from pulling her close and kissing her soft, rosy lips. She was always so adorable first thing in the morning. A little ruffled, with a clear face and warm dark eyes a little shadowed with sleep.  
"I was wondering if…" he started. "I mean there isn't much to do around here. Watch that new Jack Ryan series. You might not want to watch that."  
Lucy's eyes widened a little and her face flushed. It took him a second to realize what he'd inadvertently implied. Netflix and chill. Good one, Logan. That's not like the worst pick up line ever. Well, ok Not Hideous is still the worst. It hadn't been entirely inadvertent either. He had been thinking about it. Just not ready to actually say it. They were co-workers and even his Lucy had spent all this time worrying about that. Making an awkward pass at his co-worker could make her uncomfortable or something. If he were totally wrong that she liked him.  
"I mean, I just thought… I promise it came out sounding way weirder than I meant." Wyatt found himself stumbling over his words as Lucy kept staring at him.  
She started giggling and then replied, "Sure. I'll watch it. It sounds fun. Do I get popcorn though?" He saw her smile stretch across her face as she took a big sip of her morning coffee. They'd been up nearly all night chasing Emma through the streets of 19th century New York.  
"Of course. But let me make it. No need to burn this horrible place to the ground." Wyatt saw her face flush again.  
"Do that mean every single timeline version of me is clumsy and a bad cook?" She sighed.  
"I think so, ma'am. It's just not your strong point." She pouted a little her eyes twinkling with good humor. She was looking so cute today with her red sweater and plaid headband that the little pout only accentuated those gorgeous lips.  
"Damn. I was hoping one version of me was dashing and gorgeous."  
"Every single version of you is gorgeous." He replied. Lucy flushed even harder but she didn't seem upset. She leaned forward, a little smile creeping into her face. It was a clear invitation and heaven forbid he'd even not snap up any or all invitations.  
He crossed the distance between them and pressed a hand against her cheek. She smiled encouragingly up at him before he pressed his lips to hers. The shapes of her lips were exactly the same. It felt so much like their first kiss in front of Bonnie and Clyde. Soft and tender with a hint of heat. This time he had no reservations. Unlike every other time he'd ever kissed her, there was no Jessica lingering in the wings to make his mind wander. There was no doubt in his mind exactly who he wanted. It was her. She gave an encouraging little sigh and opened her mouth a little. He took advantage of the moment to relearn the taste and feel of her that had faded with the months apart. It didn't matter what timeline they were in. It seemed as if they were always going to find their way back to each other.  
The sound of the buzzer filtered through the bunker. "Damn." He muttered drawing away long enough to exclaim in extreme annoyance at the interruption. Lucy pulled away reluctantly her eyes meeting his. "That always happens."  
"I think we'll have to…resume when we get back." He couldn't help the happy grin settle across his face. They might have been interrupted this time but he'd kissed her and she'd enjoyed it and wanted to kiss him again. And formerly dead ex-wives or his own inability to be cool hadn't scared her off.  
"Yes, that's a promise." He saw her eyes flit from his mouth to his eyes and then she leaned in and pressed a feather-light kiss to his lips.  
"You better make good on it, sir." She smirked at him before leaving the kitchen and making her way into the common area. It was going to be a long day.  
They were back in the '40s again. 1945 to be exact. As they wandered through crowded throngs of people celebrating the end of the war Lucy's face looked like she'd just received the biggest gift of all. "I can't believe it. The energy and happiness are infectious. It's like nothing I've ever seen."  
It was true. Wyatt had never experienced anything like it either. He couldn't help thinking of his grandfather. "My grandfather was fighting the Nazis and I can't help thinking how happy he was that day. Knowing it was all over."  
"You were close to him?" Lucy asked. She stood close to him, hand firmly planted on his arm to keep from being pushed over by the crowds.  
"I wouldn't have survived without him. There wasn't a more honorable man in the whole world." Wyatt found himself tearing up thinking of his grandfather. Grandpa Sherwin had believed in him when no one did. He could only imagine how ashamed he would have been of how Wyatt had treated Lucy and Jessica.  
He could see Lucy open her mouth but the crowds were so loud he couldn't hear her. A soldier came by and grabbed Lucy. She stumbled into him, protesting but too tangled in her own feet to fight back. A surge of protectiveness flowed through Wyatt. He jerked her back and sent a fist flying in the direction of the man's face. He saw the blood spurt from his nose.  
"You don't go attacking women, or you'll get worse than that." He wrapped an arm around Lucy.  
"Didn't know she was your girl." The man protested and started to turn away.  
"It's still not ok even if I wasn't." Lucy protested. The man didn't even hear. Wyatt was proud of Lucy. She never would be a damsel in distress. But they sure would have to work on her self defense skills when it came to hand to hand combat. She got so easily tangled up in her own feet. It took him a second to realize she hadn't denied the being "his girl" part.  
"Are you ok?" he questioned reaching out to brush a strand of hair back into place.  
"I'm fine. But I forgot how aggressive those soldiers could get. They thought nothing of grabbing strange women and kissing them in front of everyone." Lucy sighed. "I mean it's an amazing day but this part isn't part of that."  
"Damn, you mean that famous photo of the Navy guy kissing that woman was like that?" Wyatt remembered reading the Life magazine his grandfather had and seeing the picture. It had seemed romantic and exciting, a world long gone. That had been before time travel was possible and time was no longer linear.  
"Yes, that's exactly what happened in that photo. Not exactly romantic." Lucy smiled ruefully. "I know I was disappointed because I thought it was so romantic as a kid."  
He reached a hand out and tugged her forward. "If we were to kiss right here no one would notice. Might make us fit in."  
She grinned her eyes slowly drifting shut. "By all means make our cover story more secure."  
No one was watching. Well, they still had to watch for Rittenhouse but for a few precious seconds, Wyatt intended to think about nothing but Lucy. And with all these happy people too focused on their own business to care about what a random soldier and his girl did they were almost afforded privacy. Lucy's smile slid off her face as their lips touched. This wasn't the soft and gentle kiss of earlier. The energy of the moment struck them both. They were alive and seeing the world together and perhaps they'd only known each other in this timeline for a few weeks but that didn't mean that this moment meant any less. Her lips parted as he slid his tongue into her mouth, gratified to hear the little whimper she gave in approval. She was a little on the shy side, a new facet to Lucy Preston he hadn't seen before, but as the seconds ticked by she grew bolder. This was the Lucy he knew. The woman whose kiss had set his world on fire. The woman who had claimed him as her own in that bossy, tender, loving way. His fingers curled around the back of her neck, cradling her head and caressing the impossibly soft skin behind her ear. He could feel her arms settle around his own neck pulling him closer.  
If he had been worried that he and this Lucy didn't have the same impossible, mind-blowing fire they had in Hollywoodland he had been mistaken. He finally pulled away long enough to draw in a ragged breath and glance around. A man with a camera set up had been snapping photos. Lucy looked around herself and flushed.  
"Maybe we better move on." She said. Then she twinkled up at him, "Also wipe that lipstick off your face or we'll never hear the end of it."  
"Who will be worse, Amy or Rufus?" Wyatt asked. He knew how Rufus had acted when he had caught them in bed in 1941. But he had a feeling Amy could be even more embarrassing. That is if she didn't murder him first. He still wasn't sure if Amy trusted him.  
"Amy, definitely. She can read my mind, I swear. I think it's a magical sisterly power." Lucy looked so happy when she talked about Amy that it felt like a miracle really had happened. He'd never believed in miracles but this sure felt like one.  
They managed to get rid of the sleeper agent and then made their way to the Lifeboat to make the jump back. A few nauseating minutes later they were back in the lonely bunker and the hatch was opened to let them out. Lucy stumbled out and hugged Amy impulsively. Ever since finding out her sister had been erased it seemed like she was terrified that her sister wouldn't be back one jump later. It was a realistic sentiment. No one could count on anything.  
They finished the debrief and were separating to go to their rooms when Lucy called him over. "Look at this."  
He gasped. Emblazoned on the cover of Life magazine was a picture of them kissing. Her hair and his hand mostly covered Lucy's face but his profile was pretty clear. "So I guess we replaced the famous picture, didn't we?"  
"I'm not sure I'm too happy about that. It could mess up history." Lucy ruefully shook her head. "Someone could recognize us."  
"They'll just think we closely resemble them." Wyatt placed a hand on her shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture of comfort. "Besides aren't you glad the most famous picture isn't some guy grabbing a woman and attacking her?"  
"That's true." Lucy smiled. "What are the odds that picture would be the famous one?"  
"It was a pretty good kiss." He grinned at her.  
She smiled back, eyes sparkling with humor. "Only pretty good?" Her eyebrows rose.  
"Amazing, wonderful, would 100% want to repeat." Wyatt placed a hand on her waist and pulled her a little closer. She sighed and started leaning forward.  
"Busted." They both started apart as Amy rounded the corner with a shit-eating grin making her look like the Cheshire cat. "Oh, my god."  
Amy's eyes fell on the picture still on the computer screen. "Now I know why you look so familiar, Wyatt. Oh my god. You two were in that famous photo."  
"The original photo they featured was some guy just grabbing a woman and attacking her. At least this one wasn't like that." Lucy stammered out, face flushing.  
"Keep telling yourself that, Preston." Amy shrugged and said, "I totally called it. And it's not like I didn't have a bet with Rufus and Jiya about when. I totally won the bet because you're my sister and I know you the best."  
"You had a bet with them?" Wyatt shook his head. He knew he'd been pretty obvious about his feelings but Lucy had kept any interest under wraps.  
"Yep, we didn't let Flynn join in because he has that creepy journal obsession thing going on. And he probably knows all your future and ugh." Amy sighed. "Lucy, did you have to pick him to give your journal to?"  
"But I didn't pick him. I don't even know him." Lucy shook her head.  
"Well, ok. Get mad at your other self that keeps causing you problems." Amy smiled and said, "I'm off to bed. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."  
Lucy laughed as well and turned towards him. "I know she's ridiculous but I love her to pieces."  
"She's my second favorite, Preston," Wyatt replied.

 **Author's Note: Now that my other story "These Days of Dust" is completed I decided to go back to this one. It's all finished and just has to be edited and posted. I'll try to post as frequently as possible considering the holidays. I love this chapter. We have Lyatt first kisses and them reprising that famous Life magazine cover (that isn't a new idea because I'm fairly certain everyone on Twitter was requesting it and now has appeared in multiple fanfics. I have no regrets.) I love how open and relaxed these two are. Lucy is definitely wanting to move forward in this relationship. But she does have a few concerns based off of her terrible situation with Noah.**  
 **Note: Wyatt is terrible at flirting with Lucy. He tries so hard but he stumbles around like a schoolboy. I love it. It's so darn cute. Also I also posted this a week or so ago on AO3 but forgot to cross post.**


	14. Chapter 14

Lucy had never been much of a cook. She could barely make a decent sandwich much less cook real food. But recently she had started getting up and making breakfast early. The fact that she always timed them to be exactly when Wyatt ate was not a coincidence. She knew she just wanted to see him and early in the morning most of the rest of the bunker was still asleep. And if she wore clothing she'd normally reserve for actually going out, no one was the wiser. Amy noticed and teased her constantly but Lucy always pretended to be ignorant.  
She liked talking to him. He made her feel like her opinion actually mattered even when he disagreed with her, which happened frequently. His smile made her stomach do weird flips and he always looked unfairly hot early in the morning. When he looked at her with that intense look in his eyes she felt herself melting. She kept remembering how intimate they had been in his timeline and found herself wanting to know what it was like. She already trusted and respected him. He'd become her friend in a remarkably short space of time. But she wanted more. And she didn't know how to start things off.  
Apparently, she didn't have to. His awkward attempt to flirt with her made her smile. It was funny to see someone so hot so hopeless at saying something. Maybe he was trying to make a pass at her but it wasn't like it bothered her. Quite the reverse. She found herself disappointed when he backtracked. She pouted a little, feeling ridiculous as she did so. His eyes met hers, blue almost black and she shivered slightly.  
"Every single version of you is gorgeous." The words were too much. Her heart couldn't handle the compliment. She found herself leaning forward, hoping he'd catch on to her invitation. It wasn't like she wasn't capable of taking her own invitation but she wanted him to make the move.  
The touch of his lips made her feel dizzy. Warm and tender, the kiss lingered softly between them. Even though this was the first time in her memory that they had ever kissed it felt as familiar as breathing. A sigh escaped her. It was only the buzzing of the Mothership's jumping that broke them apart. Reluctantly she pulled away wanting to stay in this happy bubble a little longer. He looked just as disappointed as her.  
Her disappointment lessened as she stood in Times Square on August 15, 1945, as Americans celebrated the end of the war. The enthusiasm was infectious. She couldn't help staring at everything. Hearing Wyatt talk about his grandfather reminded her that "his" Lucy must have known all of this. And she didn't. It made her a little sad. All those timelines crossing and uncrossing. Jessica dead, and now alive. Her other self bravely telling him to go back to her.  
Somehow kissing back in 45' felt different. The magic of the moment, with all these people rejoicing, made her feel less like Lucy Preston the professor and more like Lucy Preston the badass time traveler. The fire flashed between them, a fire that had been sparked almost fifteen years before when a mysterious stranger rescued her from certain death and only magnified as they were forced to work together. Her mouth opened and she was surprised to hear the whimper escaping her at the touch of his tongue to hers. She was running out of air but honestly, she didn't care.  
Finding out her picture had replaced the one she'd grown up with was a strange sight. She was way too new to this situation with Wyatt. She'd only known him a little less than two months and they weren't officially anything. He had a whole lot of memories she didn't share. And she had memories of a life that was very different. The Wyatt she knew was subtly different than the one her other self had known. Rufus had implied that once. It was also abundantly clear he wanted to peruse something with her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to dive right in or hang back. Noah had broken her confidence in herself by systematically tearing down what she liked and replacing it with what he liked. And the idea of having someone else have that power terrified her.  
"You down for watching that show?" He smiled at her and Lucy felt herself hesitating. Why in the world was she hesitating when this amazing and hot guy was showing a clear interest in her?  
"Hey, hey, don't look so scared. I promise I'm not trying to seduce you." He flashed her that crooked smile and she sighed.  
"You must think I'm some sort of weirdo. I just…I'm kind of gun-shy with relationships after…Noah. It's not like I think you're similar. I just…get nervous." Lucy looked down at the dingy floor hoping that somehow any of that would make sense.  
"Listen, Lucy. You've known me exactly seven weeks and I haven't exactly done anything to make you trust me. My life is apparently the worst episode of a soap opera and you live in a freaking underground bunker hiding from terrorists. So no wonder you want to take the next one-way ticket to Cancun. You set the pace of whatever this is or isn't."  
"Ok, I'll do it." Lucy finally looked up to find him smiling at her again. "Under one condition. I want popcorn."  
"Consider it done."  
They settled down to watch the show and even though it wasn't Lucy's normal fare she enjoyed it. Wyatt spent the whole time criticizing they inaccuracies until she laughed and said, "Can't you just enjoy it instead of picking it apart?"  
"Can you watch some history thing without picking out everything they did wrong? Because last time I checked Preston, you can't." Damn it, he knew her too well. Lucy shrugged and ate another handful of popcorn.  
"Let's face it. We're nerds." Lucy relaxed against his shoulder and closed her eyes. It felt so ridiculously calming being near him. She didn't understand how it worked but she sure liked the feeling.  
"Hey, I'm not a nerd." His eyes twinkled at her as he put an arm around her.  
"I know you are because Rufus says you are the biggest fanboy for James Bond and vintage cars." Lucy smiled triumphantly.  
"Damn it, Rufus." She heard him mutter. "Did you know you were featured prominently in a Bond film? Weapon of Choice ring any bells."  
Lucy shrugged, "I've never watched any Bond films. Don't really like how sexist they are. So I was a Bond girl? How did that happen?"  
"Fleming took a real liking to you but you turned him down." Wyatt laughed at Lucy's startled expression. "Then he wrote you into a story. Of course, Rufus and I were in it but we weren't very positively portrayed. Or at least I wasn't."  
"Wow. I can't believe that." Lucy didn't know what to think. Growing up she'd been the nerdy girl with glasses that everyone thought was "cute". She hadn't knocked anyone dead with her beauty. Wyatt seemed to act like it was a common occurrence for historical men to fall for her. Like she was some sort of time traveling heartbreaker. And from his tone of voice, he was more than a little jealous.  
"You better believe, Babydoll, that actress playing your character didn't hold a candle to you. Besides you're right. It was pretty sexist."  
"What did you just call me?" Lucy wrinkled her nose. The term of endearment wasn't something she was fond of.  
"Oh, yeah, that's right. You wouldn't remember." His face fell and he looked so genuinely sad Lucy's momentary annoyance faded. "It was kind of a joke. After Bonnie and Clyde, we sometimes used that fake nicknames we used on that mission."  
"What did I call you?" Lucy asked. She wanted to know as much as possible about her other timeline self.  
"Sweetheart." He pronounced it with a funny accent that made her laugh.  
"Ok, I forgive you for calling me that because it is a joke. Because I swear if you call me any other stupid, silly nicknames I will make you regret it." Lucy glared at him but he only grinned back.  
"Ok, ok. I won't." His eyes still looked like he was laughing at her and Lucy leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. She was focused on trying to wipe that smirk off his face but within seconds she was too distracted to care.  
They were making out like two teenagers on the couch and it was silly and beautiful. They had already tacitly agreed the evening wouldn't go beyond this so in some strange way it took the nerves off the table. She could enjoy every sensual second without worrying about whether she would regret this in the morning. Everything moved so slowly as time had literally stood still. The touch of his hands in her hair, the scrape of stubble along her neck, the strength in the arms that held her sent her senses reeling. She was dizzy, drunk on something other than alcohol and lost in a hazy cloud of pleasure.  
Finally, he pulled away and she tried pulling herself together. She was still rattled and it seemed weird because she'd been engaged to Noah and had never felt like that. Admittedly she'd realized too late that Noah was an abusive asshole who'd broken her heart and never much cared for her feelings. And sex with him had been only all right, despite his attractive appearance, because he hadn't really spent any time trying to figure out what she liked. She felt more relaxed and happy making out with Wyatt than anything she'd done with Noah in the nearly three years they'd been together. She supposed that made her a bit pathetic. Amy had always hated Noah. And Amy was right.  
"See, I kept my promise." He smirked at her, "You didn't keep your end of the bargain."  
"I didn't promise you anything." Lucy shot back.  
"That's true. I always knew you'd find the technicality."  
"I think you liked my technicality," Lucy replied. He shrugged but the corners of his lips turned up.  
Lucy yawned and felt sleep pulling her in. Traveling on missions meant days were longer and she murmured a sleepy thank you as Wyatt pulled a throw over her. She was safe, warm and comfortable. Really she had nothing more she could ask for.

 **Author's Note: Wasn't the movie amazing? Yes, I'm sad about Flynn and Amy but no fear, I am not killing off Flynn. I still haven't gotten over all the beautiful Lyatt and Riya and Time Team content we got.**  
 **This chapter is kind of similar to the last one but I feel like Lucy is just a little nervous because Noah was such a creep. And I love fluffy Lyatt flirting with each other and being adorable. There are only a few chapters left. Next chapter posted next week. Thanks to everyone for the support, comments and likes. You guys are amazing.**


	15. Chapter 15

Wyatt woke up in a tangle, a pain shooting through his neck and his foot falling asleep. It was early in the morning and apparently he'd fallen asleep watching the show with Lucy. She was dead to the world. Her hair was in her face and her mouth was half open. The last time he'd seen her like this was Hollywoodland and even then she'd still looked glamorous with her still intact makeup. This was Lucy first thing in the morning, no makeup, no filters, and no walls. Even though her small frame crowded him on the couch and she was snoring lightly she was still cute.

He definitely didn't want to be there when everyone else woke up and started commenting. Somehow they were not anything substantial. And considering their track record someone other than Amy was sure to find out. Things got messy when other people found out and knowing Lucy she'd been running away faster than he could blink. Carefully he disentangled himself from her and tiptoed to his room. Rufus was with Jiya again so the room was empty. It was too late to go back to sleep so he showered, dressed and started on breakfast.

Amy stumbled into the kitchen looking at him suspiciously before aggressively pouring out her cereal and milk. Wyatt noticed that it was the exact kind Flynn liked. Amy wasn't a bit afraid of Flynn. She obviously knew his history but she could stand toe to toe with any of them and not back down. Amy was good for Lucy. She was always encouraging her sister to break loose and live a little.

"You know if you hurt her I will personally kill you and hide your body where no one can find it. You might not think I can do it but I can. I also have friends." Amy frowned, her eyes fixed on the wall clock. "I am really glad Lucy wasn't living here while you were trying to "fix" your marriage. Because if you did the shitty I can't decide between my wife and my sort of girlfriend so I'm just going to make them live together I really would kill you. So like, you were spared. Although I guess in that timeline I didn't exist. Still, my ghost would haunt you."

Wyatt winced. He had been fully prepared to do exactly what Amy had said. He had dragged Jessica to the bunker and Lucy had been forced to stay with her. And he'd done any number of stupid things like leaving her behind. He fully deserved every bit of the suspicion Amy was casting towards him.

"Listen, I mean I get it. I don't have a wife but if she popped up alive and all that it would freak the hell out of me. And yeah, I'd be hella confused. But you can't bring Lucy into it. She doesn't deserve that. My sister has always put everyone else first. Everyone. My mother most of all. For once in her life, someone besides me needs to put her first. People take advantage of her because she's so forgiving. Hell, she's forgiven that freaking crazy Flynn for trying to kill her. And since you claim to be her friend, you need to make sure she knows it." Amy looked him straight in the eye.

"You're right. I'm sorry. Jess was pretty mad about it too." Wyatt forced himself not to look away. Amy Preston kind of scared him. She was no-nonsense and tough.

"I like her. She's tough as nails but she's cool. As for Lucy, she's running scared. After Noah hurt her so badly she's really nervous about getting close to people." Amy sighed.

"She must have loved him a lot." Wyatt was irrationally jealous of Noah. This version of Noah Lucy had actually loved.

"She didn't. He was Mom's favorite. Just like how Lucy wouldn't take that job in Ohio because Mom didn't want her to leave. And he controlled her. He was really good at it. Any time she tried asserting her independence he'd make her feel like the enemy. Of course, he had the full force of Rittenhouse behind him. He had her convinced she was a terrible person." Amy finished washing her dish and placed it in the dishwasher.

"I really hate the guy." Wyatt wanted to kill Noah for hurting Lucy so badly. He didn't say that to Amy. She already was suspicious. Looking like a homicidal maniac wouldn't help his case.

"Tell me about it." Amy reached out and gave him an unexpected hug. Weirdly enough her hugs were kind of like Lucy's. Clearly a family thing. "Listen, I actually like you. So don't screw this up. And also don't let Lucy screw this up. She's so good at it."

"It means a lot, Amy." He flashed her a smile. Amy moved away humming under her breath. Somehow he'd just gotten the youngest Preston on his side. And that meant a lot more than she could ever know.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy had not spent a lot of time with Garcia Flynn and she had preferred to keep it that way. Supposedly some future, other timeline self had trusted him enough to give him her journal. But she wasn't that person. The fact that it had been his actions that made Amy disappear made it difficult to stand him. Her sister was her rock. It was impossible to imagine a life without her.

Lucy was sitting in a car with him while they waited for the sleeper agent to appear. They were attempting to protect Ida B. Wells from being attacked. Lucy had only caught a glimpse of the famous African American women's rights leader but the sight of her had been enough to set her fangirling. Rufus had been equally impressed. Ida was a force to be reckoned with. She had been forced to fight both the limitations of her gender and race from both men and women. She'd never given up. No wonder Rittenhouse was trying so hard to get rid of her.

" Why did I give you the journal?" Lucy decided she might as well get the whole thing out in the open. No time like the present. She was feeling sleepy and an intense and emotional conversation would keep her up. She wasn't sure she believed Flynn. He might be lying. He might not be. But he was the only person who had read her journal.

"Because you wanted me to steal the Mothership and fight Rittenhouse." He replied.

"And try to kill me? Did I have a death wish or something?" Lucy scoffed.

"No, that part wasn't your intention. Frankly, you were just as much a stranger to me as I was to you. I appreciated the leads but I thought you were crazy."

"Ok. So apparently my journal was just some piece of intelligence. Which is great except that I still don't know why I gave it to you. And how did I give it to you?"

"You did the same thing Wyatt did when he saved you. You traveled back on your timeline. You did it because everyone in your life was gone. I think you hoped to save them. Wyatt, Rufus, Jiya and Amy. They were all gone." Lucy felt the full weight of the pain her journal self must have felt. It gave her a physical pain in her chest.

"This isn't exactly comforting. I mean, I don't know all of them but still…" Lucy closed her eyes for a second.

"You were pretty much ruthless. That's why I guess we were together. We'd both lost everyone. But in the end, it wasn't going to end well because your heart belonged to someone else."

"Ok, yeah, no offense but I'm kind of creeped out that we dated in some other timeline. Since I don't actually know you." Lucy glanced out the window. She knew it had seemed different with Wyatt. After she'd gotten over her initial anxiety she'd found herself genuinely interested in him.

Flynn chuckled, " Hey, you were also a chain-smoking alcoholic who was pretty trigger happy. Impressive person. But you aren't the same person."

Lucy nodded. She knew she wasn't the journal self. And she didn't want to be her. The woman must have been through all kinds of hell to end up like that. And the fact that Flynn only thought she was impressive if she was like that didn't particularly bother her. She didn't need to impress him.

"Rittenhouse had this plan. To turn me into this perfect pawn. And Amy and I have been running as far and fast as we can from it. I don't want anyone telling me my future or what I can or can't do. Because like it or not I'm not the woman in the journal and I don't want to be her. And I don't have to be her." Lucy knew her sister was probably cheering her on somewhere back in 2018.

"True, but you can be so much more than a teacher." Flynn glanced away from her. "That's your destiny."

"It's my choice." Lucy didn't know when she became such a believer in choices. Maybe it was Amy who always told her she had the power to craft her own destiny. Or maybe it was Wyatt who kept talking about how none of them had their fates set in stone. Or maybe it was seeing Rufus and Jiya fight the fate Jiya had predicted. Whatever it was Lucy was no longer willing to accept that things were completely arbitrary.

"What were you talking about when you said that in the journal her heart belonged to someone else? Not Noah?" Lucy shuddered thinking about any part of her being bound by fate to him.

"No, I think you know who I'm talking about." He gave her a strange smile. Lucy shrugged but she knew exactly whom he was talking about. He was talking about Wyatt and how their paths had kept crossing. That seemingly in every timeline, no matter the odds stacked against them, they managed to connect.

"Yeah, well, I don't believe in that. Fate, destiny, soul mates." It went up against every belief she had in the way the world worked. But then again so did time travel.

"Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell."

Lucy wondered what Amy would say about the whole thing. She didn't dare bring it up to Wyatt. She'd sensed her was jealous of Flynn for some reason and finding out that any version of herself was involved with him would be sure to make him upset. And she didn't want to rock their delicate relationship by mentioning it. Someday, maybe she'd talk about it. But right now she needed Amy's steady intelligence.

"Lucy, it doesn't matter. None of it matters. You are not bound by any other decision other than what you make. You get to make your own path." Amy reached out and tugged on Lucy's arm. "You don't have to become that person in the journal. Or marry Wyatt or anything. You have the right to make your own choices."

"I know." Lucy swallowed and finally faced her fears, "But what happens if somehow no matter what I always end up in the same place? What if I'm doomed to always lose people? This time travel thing is so scary. I never know if you're going to be there when I get back. Do you know how hard it is to go each time knowing you might disappear?"

"I know. But listen, Lucy, you and I are always sisters. No matter what. I will always be there in your heart." Amy wrapped her arms around Lucy.

"That's true. No matter what."

It didn't matter what kind of fate the journal lined out. Lucy could deal with it. Right now she resolved to enjoy this moment. Because she couldn't count on anything.

 **Author's Note: I love Amy Preston so much. I hate the idea that she's gone forever from canon. I included Ida B. Wells because she's a really important figure in both the civil rights and the feminist movement. I noticed Abby wanted her in a future episode of Timeless. I think she'd be amazing.**

 **I know the conversation between Lucy and Flynn might seem a little strange especially since I kept the canon "relationship" between them in the journal but one must remember the journal isn't very accurate. It is from a different timeline. I was basing this off of some spoilers from the movie but with only limited info on it. It won't be an important part of the story, I promise.**


	16. Chapter 16

Paris in the 1920s was just what he might have expected. There was plenty of color, lights, and glamour but the whole place was weighed down by a world-weariness he recognized. In his timeline Lucy, Rufus and Bam Bam had gone to the '20s while he'd been imprisoned in the dark site after trying to rescue Jessica. Bam Bam was still alive because in this timeline Wyatt hadn't stolen the Lifeboat and never was arrested. And this Lucy had never gone on that mission. Rufus remembered meeting Ernest Hemingway and Josephine Baker and apparently had a few memories from that time he didn't want Jiya to know.  
Lucy's eyes lit up as they picked their way along the Champs Elysées to search for Emma. "I have been to Paris but it wasn't like this."  
Wyatt chuckled. He had never been to Paris but he didn't think it would be anything like this. And somehow, now that he was here with Lucy on a beautiful evening anything seemed possible. Wyatt knew that his own foolishness had hurt Lucy in his timeline by abandoning her without a word to chase after Jessica. But somehow he believed that he might be able to make up for it with this Lucy and in this time. Lucy kept on talking about the Popular Front and the right-wing militias that were gaining popularity in France at the time. It was frightening how similar things were to their own time.  
Rittenhouse apparently only cared about Negritude and the Nardal sisters. Most of the leaders of the anti-colonial movement were friends with them and much of the later political and social movements could be traced back to their salon. Rufus and Connor Mason were talking them up and finding out more on Rittenhouse's connections while Lucy and Wyatt were searching for the sleeper agent and trying to take out Emma. For once Rufus and Connor were the ones with the in and Lucy and he were really more useful as a backup. With people like Aime Cesaire, Leopold Senghor and Leon Damas who would go on to do important things there was no room for any mess ups.  
Lucy settled herself in the bushes outside of the salon. Wyatt knew that the sleeper agent very well could be in the room with the others, biding their time until they sprang into action. But he also knew that was up to Rufus and Connor. His presence in that room wouldn't help. He could tell Lucy was disappointed she couldn't be there either. Meeting the Nardal sisters and the other important luminaries would have been exciting.  
"We have a problem." Rufus materialized out of the darkness. "We uhh…kind of have to bring him along."  
"What?" Lucy stood up rapidly.  
"Rittenhouse shot him. If we don't get him help now he'll die." Rufus was supporting Leopold Senghor on a stretcher with Connor. "He was leaving when they took a shot at him. We need to get him home asap, get him fixed up and then take him back."  
"Ok, I'll stay behind." Wyatt began helping them carry the wounded man back to the Lifeboat. It reminded him of that time Rufus was shot. It was a terrible thing. Lucy looked distressed but he gave her credit. She wasn't objecting to the whole bringing a famous historical figure to the present.  
"I'll stay. I need to make sure that you don't mess up history." Lucy gave a small smile as she glanced over at Senghor. "He is going to be Senegal's first President. And a very important intellectual."  
"It isn't safe." Wyatt protested. Lucy sent him a look.  
"I'll be fine. And besides, I have always wanted to see 1920's Paris." Lucy's whole mind was fixed on making sure he didn't do something crazy. It was both annoying and sweet.  
"Ok. We'll come back as soon as we can." Rufus stepped forward and whispered in his ear, "Don't mess this up. Not like last time. Because if you do…"  
Rufus didn't give him a moment to reply. He and Connor went back into the Lifeboat and in seconds the Lifeboat had disappeared. It had been nearly six months since Lucy had come to the bunker to live. And it had been almost a year and a half since Hollywoodland. Lucy's face was soft and gentle in the darkness. She turned to him and said nervously, "If Senghor dies things will be terrible. He's very important."  
"No one movement rests on the work of one man," Wyatt replied. "I'm sure someone else would have stepped up."  
"Maybe, but how can we know?" Lucy shook herself. "But after all does it matter? We can't do anything here."  
"Except hunker down and wait," Wyatt replied.  
"There are worse places to be. Paris was famous in the '20s." Lucy smiled as they began walking back to where they had come from. They didn't have a hotel room. They didn't have a place to stay. Back in the old days, they had Mason's old money vaults designed to fool anyone but now they didn't. Lucy flushed a little at the glances the people had as she booked a room in the dingy hotel not far away. She spoke rapidly in French that he couldn't understand but by the way people looked at them it was clear most of them thought she was a prostitute.  
"We got a room. I had to tell them we were married. But I don't think they believe me. It doesn't matter, though. It's so common that it would be rare if we were." Lucy whispered softly in his ear.  
He looked around their room. It was dark and dingy and smelled like cabbage and stale sweat. The bed looked suspicious and dirty. The noises emanating from the bar made it difficult to talk much less sleep. Definitely not the most romantic place in the world. Lucy gave a small sniff of disgust and sat down on the bed. "We might as well make ourselves comfortable."  
Over the time spent in the military and now in the past, he'd gotten used to less than comfortable circumstances. Lucy wasn't anywhere near as used to it as he was. But she was handling it with a lot of grace. "You must regret staying here with me."  
"You don't speak French. You'd be a mess here alone." Lucy replied. She smiled at him with a little shake of her head.  
Over the last few months, they had grown closer. Between missions, they did their best to spend time together but it was difficult. Neither of them had their own rooms nor the common room was never empty apart from the middle of the night. A few stolen kisses and kitchen conversation was about all they could manage. He supposed they were "dating" although it seemed so strange because the last time he'd "dated" had been in high school. It had been a long time since he'd actually had to think about things like dates and fancy restaurants (not that he could take her out to a fancy restaurant anyway) and what was appropriate. After Jessica's death, the sad and pathetic one night stands didn't count.  
"You're right. My French would be enough to start another war. I know four languages but French isn't one of them. Wonder how speaking German would go over." Wyatt thought about being trapped in the 18th century and Lucy telling him how to say he'd slept with the soldier's mother. He ended up telling her the story.  
"Oh my god, you didn't say that?" Lucy shook her head, a tear sliding down her face from her laughter. Then her expression changed.  
"You speak four languages? And German?" Her eyes widened.  
"Yeah," It would be his languages that would impress Lucy. He didn't have a lot of claims to fame when it came to smarts so he was willing to take what he could get. And apparently speaking lots of languages turned her on.  
"You're pretty smart, soldier, even if you pretend you aren't." Their lips met in a long, lazy kiss. This was so different than Hollywoodland. This wasn't the culmination of a rush of frenzied passion, sparked through pain and separation and roaring to life amid insecurity. He knew he loved her. And she didn't have the baggage of being abandoned and lost. They'd spent enough time hesitating.  
"You're pretty tough, even if you are a historian." He whispered against her ear. She smelled like that soft floral perfume she'd tried on when stealing clothes. It was intoxicating. She was always intoxicating.  
"Are you thinking about, before?" She questioned. Her voice was soft and nearly inaudible in the noisy room.  
"I messed that up. Big time." He had hurt her and now he was getting a second chance with her.  
"We have a second chance. This isn't the same thing." Her confidence was unshakeable.  
"I have to say. The accommodations were better. Hedy Lemarr's guest house was much nicer." He glanced around wondering if maybe it was more real to be together in a dingy hotel somewhere in France in the 1920s than in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.  
"I don't care. Maybe I will be distracted from this horrible place." Lucy glanced up at him, eyes serious. "I don't know. I can't be her. The woman you know. But I can be me. And well, I don't have any memories of that time. But does it matter?"  
It didn't matter. It was difficult because he had so many memories of a time period she didn't even know about. But she also was so much more than that. Because at the heart of it she was Lucy and that was all that mattered. "It doesn't matter. You, me, both of us. That matters."  
"Then…let's take advantage of the privacy." Lucy's smile stretched across her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The room was in semi-darkness, the only light coming in from the dusty window, but regardless of that, she looked breathtaking.  
"Yes." His hands tangled in her pinned up mass of curls but it didn't matter. He couldn't stop touching her. She was real, close, flesh and blood. Not a ghost or a shell of herself. This kiss was fire, burning brightly, enough to burn through any hesitation. Her gasp filtered through the room at his gentle nip to her lower lip. There was no hesitation. No question of whether this was happening and why. Fingers splayed along her back as he traced her spine, ran along the line of her jaw and cradled her neck. Any moment she might disappear, this moment could be nothing more than the remnant of a fractured imagination but while it lasted he intended to take full advantage of it.  
Her eyes blinked open as she reached up to remove his tie and unbutton his shirt. Her hands were restless as she commented softly, "You know I was curious. And jealous. Of myself."  
It was an absurd thing to say. But he understood. The old Lucy never would have said that. Not with the ghost of Jessica lying between them. Her hands moved restlessly, exploring his chest and shoulders with a single-minded determination that might have been amusing if it wasn't so arousing. Finally, he stilled her hands and reached out to unzip the soft red silk dress. "You sure?" he asked.  
"Yes," she replied. Then the hint of a smile played at the corner of her mouth as she said, "Sure you don't have any other dead wives in the closet."  
"None," he replied. The red silk slid to the floor in a crumpled heap. She didn't even notice. "Not unless you want to volunteer."  
She laughed a little, the sound almost a relief. The sound died away in a soft moan as he slipped the discarded shirt behind her back and pushed her back against the pillow, lips tracing the curve of her neck. The thin slip she wore underneath the dress did nothing to disguise her body. The filmy lace panels showed tempting amounts of skin and softly caressed her long legs. It was a confusing mass of lace and silk that tangled in his hands as he tried removing it. Softly cursing he finally whispered, "How did you get this damn thing on?"  
She laughed even harder as she replied, "I don't know. It's a puzzle to get on and off. But you'd think you'd never seen women's underwear before."  
Damn, she was a little minx. Her lips were turned up in a little smirk of pride. He pressed his lips against her mouth until the smile slipped away. The weight of his body settled against her making her squirm. Eyes closed he pressed a kiss to her throat; tasting the perfume she'd put on her neck. It was sensory overload with all the warmth, taste and scent of her.  
The sound of ripped fabric filled the air. That stupid slip wasn't worth the effort of figuring out. It wasn't like she owned it. "Wyatt," she half protested. Her eyes opened, pupils dilated and darker than usual. The word was half panted out. "You better be glad that wasn't mine. Because if it was you'd get it."  
Xxxxxxxx  
The sun was just rising as she woke up, a ray of sunshine striking her right in the eye. She blinked her eyes open and glanced around the room. It looked even more dismal in the light of day. Lucy stretched suddenly aware of the sheet wrapped around her being the sole item of clothing on her body. She found her mouth curving up into a satisfied smile. It had been a good night even if she hadn't spent much time sleeping.  
She curled back down against her companion feeling his arm slip around her waist to draw her closer. His eyes were open and watching her making her sure that he'd been awake before her. "You sleep well?" he asked, voice gravelly with disuse.  
"Not very good," she replied. "Someone kept me awake."  
"Hmm…wouldn't know who that was." He said, leaning over to kiss her. She almost protested that she hadn't brushed her teeth until she remembered she didn't have a toothbrush.  
She flushed happily as she let her mind wander over the night. She'd known from the moment she got the room that this might happen and honestly, she was more than ready. Perhaps she hadn't known Wyatt as long as he had her but she already felt drawn to him. And the impossible chemistry they'd always had made her want to explore that. Finding out he knew four languages had reminded her he wasn't just pretty. He was also smart. (And well, if she wanted him to say things in all those other languages that was her little secret.)  
He'd seemed lost in memories of her before, making her jealous of the other Lucy who'd known exactly what had happened that other night. It was ridiculous to be jealous of herself but she felt that way. She was too distracted to spend much time on jealousy not with her hands tracing paths along the muscles of his chest and arms. She'd never been much for muscles but the one time she'd seen him without a shirt had been featured in more than one fantasy. Amy had laughed her head off at Lucy's "thirsty" expression. He was unfairly hot. At this particular second, she wasn't sure if the whole thing wasn't just a fantasy. If it was she didn't want to wake up any time soon.  
She tried to make a joke because she was so insecure, ghosts of Noah and all her other mom approved boyfriends echoing through her head. Part of her was screaming that she'd never been good enough to keep him. Her brain registered the annoyance he felt at her complicated slip and she found herself wondering if maybe he was just as afraid of this as her. Perhaps even more afraid considering how terribly it had turned out last time. Her laughter died away in her throat at the feeling of his weight pressing down on her.  
The sound of ripping fabric simultaneously aroused and annoyed her. The flash of both sent shivers down her spine. No one had ever done that to her. They wouldn't have been allowed. Then again the slip wasn't hers and she'd never wear it again. She tried chastising him but that grin indicated he knew just as well as she did that she wasn't actually mad.  
"When do you think they'll come back for us?" Lucy asked. As nice as the night had been she didn't want to spend much time in the past. She wanted to get back home.  
"Rufus will come back. Probably this morning." Wyatt replied. "We should get dressed."  
He made no move to actually do so. She grinned as she snuggled closer. Wyatt Logan was definitely a quick study. He'd probably learned more about her likes and dislikes from one or two nights together than Noah had in their three years. With him, she felt confident and intelligent. She was drawn to him like a magnet. And that was a scary thought. She'd lost him once before.  
"I love you, Lucy." The words came out softly. "I know you don't really know me. Not the same as I do you. But I love you. You don't need to say anything. I just want you to know."  
The words astounded her. Lingering in her mind and washing through her body. No one else apart from family and friends had ever loved her. Noah had claimed to love her but his actions had proved he didn't. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes as she basked in the joy of them. He loved her. The arm around her waist tightened. She wordlessly faced him. The insecurity in his face touched her. She pressed a hand against his cheek feeling the stubble under her fingertips.  
"I really, really like you. Like a huge crush, which is kind of embarrassing, because I'm in my thirties but it's true. And I don't know if I can call it love yet but it's special." Lucy saw the smile flash across his face.  
"You like me," he said in a silly voice, eyes twinkling as he pulled her in for a kiss. She responded eagerly, laughter dying in her throat.  
"Stop it," Lucy protested. He stopped instantly, hand stilled at her shoulder. "I mean, you're ridiculous."  
"I'm just happy. I've wanted you so long, Luce. I have a lot of time to make up for. A year and a half since you disappeared. A year and a half of lonely days and nights." His face sobered and she leaned in, trying to kiss the frown away.  
"I'm all for the making up for lost time thing," Lucy replied.  
It was much later in the morning when they managed to tear themselves away and get dressed. The red dress wasn't suitable for the morning but she had nothing else to wear. They made the trek to the spot they'd agreed to meet Rufus. The Lifeboat materialized a few minutes later.  
"Did you sleep well?" Rufus asked. His eyes twinkled making her suspect he knew something had happened but was waiting to tease Wyatt.  
"No," Lucy admitted. "That hotel was disgusting. I need a shower to wash off all the grime."  
" Welcome to time travel," Rufus replied.  
The nauseating trip back was finished and Lucy climbed down to meet Amy. Amy's arms were around her in a second, "I was so worried."  
"I'm fine. Just wanted to make sure history was preserved." Lucy replied. She suddenly remembered that Senghor was possibly dead. She'd been so wrapped up in her own situation she hadn't even noticed.  
"He's fine and has been returned to his timeline after surgery," Denise replied.  
The debrief was short since she and Wyatt had little to add to what the others did. They hadn't talked about hiding their relationship but Lucy didn't want to advertise it. She was fine with people knowing but she didn't want to get too much attention.  
"Let's see how long we can fool them?" He whispered in her ear as he pulled her aside into the laundry room.  
"Sure, but Amy will know in five minutes flat. I think she can read my mind." Lucy answered.  
"Rufus is on to us." Wyatt sighed. "He knows me too well. At least he didn't walk in."  
"He did? Last time?" Lucy found her face burning. She was definitely getting some second-hand embarrassment.  
"Yep, and he was all awkward about it." Wyatt didn't like thinking about that period of time. The last happy moments before things got complex.  
"Well, we'll see how it goes," Lucy replied. His lips trailed along her throat. "You know they'll figure it out now if you keep doing that."  
"I don't care."  
"Neither do I," Lucy admitted. But the sound of footsteps approaching made them break apart. Lucy tiptoed to the door and opened it a crack. Jiya passed by and then Lucy turned to him. "The coast is clear. I'll leave."  
The shower felt amazing. She'd never thought about how lucky she was to have a warm shower. It would have been nice to have company but that definitely would have revealed the truth to everyone. Brushing her wet hair back in a bun she made her way to her room with Amy.  
"How are you? Really. I was so worried when Rufus and Mason came here alone with that guy. I mean, it was crazy." Amy gave her a massive hug.  
"I'm fine. I just didn't want to leave Wyatt alone. He doesn't even know French." Lucy replied.  
"Uh huh. And that's totally why you look like the cat who swallowed all the cream. You're basically preening. You look exactly like someone who snagged their crush." Amy dragged Lucy down to sit on her bed.  
"I don't know why you'd think that," Lucy replied.  
Amy shrugged. "Good guess. I'm also your sister. And I know that you look happier and more relaxed than I've ever seen you."  
Lucy crumpled under the weight of her sister's words. Regardless of trying to keep it a secret she couldn't. Finally, she said, "He told me he loves me."  
"Duh…of course. I mean, he looks at you as if the sun rises and set on you." Amy grinned. "I'm just glad he admitted it."  
"I do like him. Not sure about love but I do like him." Lucy confessed.  
" So, how was your night?" Amy's twinkle made Lucy flush.  
"What?" Lucy's attempt at playing innocent made Amy laugh harder.  
"Don't you try that. I know something happened."  
"Ok, yeah, it was great." Lucy felt Amy start to braid her hair. Back in the day, she used to cover Lucy's head in braids and buns and weird styles.  
"Sometimes the hot ones are not exactly good at showing up. Noah certainly wasn't." Amy's fingers in her hair soothed her.  
"No, no problems there," Lucy confessed.  
"Didn't think there would be. At least not on your end. You have had the hots for him since you two met. I may be gay but I know pretty people when I see them."  
"Come on. I know you thought Jessica was hot. I saw you checking her out." Lucy wasn't willing to be teased beyond a certain point. Then it was payback time.  
"Stop it," Amy replied. Her cheeks flushed. "Ok, yeah, but I'm not opening that can of worms."  
It was almost a miracle that somehow she'd stumbled into this amazing timeline. Considering the timeline of Wyatt's Lucy she was so incredibly blessed.

 **I thought the Nardal sisters and some of the post-WWI anti-colonial crowd would be a cool historical spot for an episode. Look the Nardal sisters up. They were really cool and their salon was super impressive.**  
 **I think there are some similarities between Hollywoodland and them finally getting together in Lucy's timeline but also a lot of differences. It's a lot less glamorous and romantic which oddly enough makes it feel more realistic to me.**  
 **Amy Preston is a love and I'll do everything to protect her, ok.**  
 **Note: I absolutely promise the making up for lost time reference was written before the movie was even close to airing. I think I wrote it way back in November. Nice to know I have the ability to see into the future.**


	17. Chapter 17

Rufus was on to him. He could see his friend's smile as he encountered him in the kitchen. The hope of keeping the whole relationship a secret was fading fast. Rufus said, "Ok, I checked with Jiya. To my knowledge, Lucy isn't married to Noah and you and Jessica are still divorced. So no major crazy stuff."  
"Good to know," Wyatt replied. He might not let on that the constant fear was that one jump would end everything. That something would happen to influence the timeline that could never be altered. Jessica coming back and Lucy disappearing had been a chilling reminder of all that could be lost or gained.  
"You better not mess this up. I'm watching you." Rufus was dead serious. He could see it in his friend's eyes. He and Flynn were the only people that remembered that he'd dragged Jessica into the bunker while Lucy was there. And Rufus was the only person on earth who remembered him as a widower grieving over Jessica.  
"I won't." Wyatt would never leave Lucy behind. At least not willingly. He'd promised long ago that she hadn't lost him. And she hadn't. Not really.  
"Good. This time at least I was spared catching you in bed together. Had to bleach my eyes." Rufus grumbled as he grabbed a handful of stale chips that were pushed to the back of the cupboard.  
It was pointless denying it. Wyatt just shrugged and grabbed a glass of milk. There were definite plusses to not being in the past. Clean clothes, sheets, and actual showers. Food that wasn't dubious. Well, ok, the bunker food was awful. He never thought he'd say it but the bunker was preferable to the horrible place in France.  
Being in a relationship with Lucy was a heady experience. They tried keeping it a secret but it was a pretty open secret. No one was really taken in. She'd steal popcorn from his bowl and throw it at him. Sometimes when people were out of the room he'd steal a kiss. The only time they had alone was when they both mysteriously did laundry at the same time. Laundry never had been such an enjoyable experience.  
She smiled so often. It was such a relief. Amy was the main reason but he played a role. Hearing her laugh roll off her tongue made him smile. So often he'd caught her trying to hold in the painful emotions and losses she'd experienced all her life. It was good to see her happy again. They weren't fooling anyone but no one seemed to care.  
There were all kinds of things to deal with. Rittenhouse was still lingering around and haunting their footsteps. Rufus still used up the last of the milk. Everyone got the flu from someone else. The bathroom didn't have a lock until Amy installed one after getting Agent Christopher to buy her the supplies. He still woke up in a cold sweat hearing his teammates calling for him. Lucy started getting nightmares too from the weight of so much running.  
"Where are we going?" Lucy's face took on a cajoling expression as she sat beside him in the car. He'd managed to get them an evening off even if agents would be watching them. It had taken a lot of work but Agent Christopher had finally agreed. Maybe she'd remembered when she'd been dating Michelle. Rufus and Jiya had managed to sneak into a movie and see their families briefly. It was only fair that they should get some freedom.  
"Not going to tell you. It's a surprise." She knew diversionary tactics like a pro. Even her clothing was purposely designed to do so. She was dressed in a vintage 50's dress that she'd worn on a mission and bright red lipstick. Somehow she managed to look smoking hot and adorable at the same time. Lucy Preston had his number and she knew it. And right now she was determined to spoil the surprise.  
"I hate surprises." She complained, eyes twinkling.  
"Sorry, but that's the way it's gonna be. Unless you want to go back and hang out with Christopher."  
"All right. I don't want to spend any more time in that horrible place than I have to."  
"So the company doesn't matter?" He pretended to be offended.  
"Nope. I mean I guess you aren't horrible. There are worse people to spend an evening with. You know Emma or something. She's worse."  
"Damn. Well, I guess you aren't hideous. To look at." She chuckled and shook her head. She didn't remember the line he'd used in Hollywoodland. It was an absolutely awful attempt at charming her. He'd been so nervous then. She'd looked so absolutely radiant and gorgeous and was so far out of his league that he'd turned into an awkward fourteen-year-old. The old twinge of pain reappeared at the fact that their timelines had diverged. Some of the memories she'd never have. It was difficult knowing that any moment all of it could change.  
"Are we going to the park?" Lucy's eyes widened as she looked out the window. He'd found a small park not far from the bunker, which could be secured easily. Restaurants were out of the question due to Rittenhouse. So that left a park.  
"Yes, sorry that a restaurant is out. Christopher's rules." Dating was difficult when you lived in a WWII era underground bunker.  
"I love picnics," Lucy replied. Her face broke into a smile.  
They weren't truly alone. There were Christopher's agents and they had wires on them in case they were kidnapped. Picking up the picnic basket he found the gate and opened it, "Come on, Preston. I'm glad you like picnics because that's about all we can do."  
She laughed again and followed, her shoes sinking into the grass. She frowned as her heels sank into the muddy ground. "This is why I never wear heels."  
Abruptly she reached down and unbuckled the shoes and took them off. Heels dangling she walked barefoot along the path. "You know I knew you'd do that."  
He found the outlook he'd been looking for and laid the blanket down. She sank down with a sigh and shook her head. "I don't know how you knew that."  
"You aren't a fancy person. I thought you were. But underneath it all, you aren't." He'd expected Professor Preston to be prissy and annoying. And at first, they'd actually disliked each other. Her obsession with keeping things the same and attempts to control how he worked drove him crazy. And then slowly she'd slipped into his heart, stealing it away before he knew it was gone.  
"You're right. I hated all those fancy dinners my mom forced me to attend. All those people pretending to be important." She leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you. This picnic is definitely the best date idea ever."  
"Including a terrible hotel in 1920's France?" That place might have been horrible but it had amazing memories. It was the place they'd started their relationship in.  
"Well, it was Paris. So I guess the second best date." She reached over and opened the picnic basket. "I'm hungry."  
Lucy was always hungry but rarely sat down for actual meals and tended to graze on things throughout the day. She glanced at the cheese plate, fancy sandwiches and cheesecake. "Did you make these?"  
"No, Christopher picked it up. She swears this place is great. Apparently, it's her wife's favorite restaurant."  
"I trust her. I've had Michelle's chili and it's great. She has good taste." She picked up the wine and raised her eyebrows, "This is from 1905. Did you?"  
"Yeah, that might have been something stolen." He grinned at her remembering how Rufus had helped him steal a few bottles of expensive wine out of the wine cellar of the Earl of Carnarvon. Lucy would appreciate the joke. "You know Downton Abbey? When we went to Highclere Castle I snagged a few bottles. Thought you'd appreciate drinking wine from Downton Abbey."  
Lucy shook her head, "What if the servants got blamed?"  
"Oh, they blamed it on us. I left a note."  
He poured a glass for her and then one for herself. "To kicking ass and saving the world."  
"Cheers."  
The food was finished and the sun had set. They should be getting back but he was reluctant to leave. This was the most peaceful he'd been in months. Lucy leaned back and rested her head against his shoulder, fingers plucking dandelions and weaving them into a chain.  
"There is an artificial pond here. Do you want to see it? It's not very impressive but still…"  
"Yes, I do." She sprang up and said, "I think anything is impressive after living six feet under."  
The pond wasn't very impressive. But she was. She stood there for a second, biting her lip. Finally, she said, "I love you."  
The words coming from her lips startled him. He knew she liked him and that they were together but somehow he kept waiting for her to realize that she could do so much better.  
"I love you, Lucy." It seemed so natural to kiss her. They were both smiling so the kiss wasn't the most coordinated but it didn't matter. He lifted her up bridal style and she squealed.  
"Don't you dare." Her tone was laced through with happiness.  
"What?" He hadn't actually been planning anything until she said it. Now the water was a temptation. Happiness made him want to do something reckless. Like jump into the nearest body of water. She leaned forward in his arms to press her lips to his.  
"Don't you dare."  
The water wasn't very deep. It only reached a little higher than their waists. Lucy gasped and said warningly, "You're gonna get it. You are so gonna get it."  
The annoyance in her tone was contrasted to the joyous way she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. The happiness was infectious, lighting up every nerve in his body. Kissing her like this, one long lingering kiss after another, felt so freeing. No longer bound to a past or to crippling guilt he could move forward knowing somehow she'd be there too.  
They got back to the bunker water soaked and flushed but deliriously happy. Everyone blamed Lucy's clumsiness for wet clothes. She gave him an annoyed glance before dragging him to his deserted room to thoroughly chastise him for ruining a perfectly good dress. A lecture had never felt so good even if it hadn't been a verbal one.

 **I had to give them a real date once. Also, one that happens in the present. And obviously, I stole portions of the date from the pool kiss because of course. This chapter is basically shameless Lyatt fluff but I'm not ashamed because the last 20 minutes of the movie was the same.**


	18. Chapter 18

It had been a spectacularly bad mission. History had changed and Lucy couldn't get the memory of seeing the lifeless body of Eugene Debs lying lifeless on the floor in 1917, a full nine years before he was supposed to die. Rittenhouse had struck again and was winning.

Wyatt helped her down from the Lifeboat, sensing she needed the comfort of his touch even if she was perfectly capable of getting down herself. She rested her head on his shoulder, her body still trembling with the residual terror of being held at gunpoint and seeing people die. Rufus patted her shoulder before heading over to Jiya. "You did what you could, Lucy," Flynn said before leaving. Lucy nodded wordlessly. She was grateful to everyone for understanding.

Agent Christopher and Jiya looked surprised at Lucy and Wyatt standing so close together. And where was Amy? Amy was always waiting by the Lifeboat no matter what the time of day or night. Lucy's stomach started churning. There was no way that there could be anything wrong. Amy was fine. Amy was fine. She kept repeating it like a mantra as she asked, "Where's Amy?"

"Amy?" Agent Christopher's face registered surprise. "Your sister?"

"Yes," Lucy said. Her grip on Wyatt's hand tightened. She could see the fear written on his face. "My sister who is living here."

"Lucy, your sister was murdered by Rittenhouse almost 4 years ago." Agent Christopher's voice was soft and sad but it wasn't enough.

Amy was dead. In this terrible timeline, Amy was dead. Lucy couldn't stop the sobs that escaped her. And she couldn't go back because she existed in the timeline. She couldn't make her sister come back to life. There was no way to save her. Wordlessly Wyatt wrapped his arms around her, tightened his hold around her as she sobbed. It was the only thing he could do. Pain filtered through her heart, a physical vise settling around her body.

"Did you see Jessica on this mission?" Jiya's whisper was loud enough to register in her ear.

"What? Why would I?" Wyatt stiffened and Lucy lifted her head.

"Because she's Emma's right-hand woman." Jiya's face registered shock. "Oh my god, you didn't know that."

"What the hell is going on?" Wyatt turned to Jiya. "Amy's gone. You say Jessica is working for Emma. What the hell changed?"

Lucy was grateful he was asking the questions she couldn't get out. She shivered and clung to him. "Amy was killed four years ago. They said it was a home robbery but we all knew better. Two years ago Wyatt brought Jessica to the bunker, and Rufus and everyone said she was dead before. Rittenhouse brought her back. And then she revealed herself to be Rittenhouse when she kidnapped me and I had to escape to 1885. I was stuck in the past for 3 years."

"Jessica is Rittenhouse?" Lucy wondered at how both of them were being attacked by the very things that hurt the most. Amy was dead and Jessica, the woman Wyatt had loved so much was turned into someone else.

"I'm afraid so, Wyatt. You tried with Jessica. But she wouldn't listen. She's been following Emma around through time helping her." Jiya's hands on their shoulder did nothing to soften their pain.

"I've got to go." Lucy found her way to her room. At least she'd stayed in this room before. They'd changed bunkers a couple of months ago to a more comfortable place. The room was empty of Wyatt's things. In this timeline, they must not be together. Throwing herself on her bed she silently shook with sobs. Amy was gone. Amy was gone. Her baby sister was gone.

The knock on the door barely registered. She heard it open up and then Wyatt came in. He knelt beside her and pulled her close. "I've lost her, Wyatt. My baby sister."

"We'll get her back." He promised. "Don't forget I traveled on my timeline once."

"But I don't know if I can rescue her. We're fighting against all of Rittenhouse." Lucy's hands shook as she tried to reach out and grab his hands.

"We just have to plan a little. Then we can do it." His unshakeable confidence in their ability to bring Amy back comforted her.

"What about Jessica?" Lucy's insecurity rammed her in the face. She couldn't lose Wyatt on top of Amy. It would hurt way too much. Then she'd be truly alone.

"Apparently she was raised Rittenhouse. And now she's a big person there. She screwed me over and left. And I was a fool. Lied, kept her here, broke your heart. That's why everyone was so surprised to see you with me. Apparently, we weren't very close in this timeline. Not after I hurt you so badly." The tremor in his voice hurt her heart. Silently she reached out and brushed the hair back from his face.

"We have to stay together." She whispered. "We're all we have."

"We will." He tightened his hold on her. "I love you, Lucy. No matter what happened with Jessica. I'm sorry she's Rittenhouse. But that doesn't stop me from loving you."

Silently she nodded, tears dripping into his shirt. The sound of the Lifeboat filtered through her head. Instantly Wyatt was on the alert. Grabbing his gun from her dresser he opened the door and began heading for the common room. Lucy followed, dread coursing through her.

"What the hell?"

"What is going on?"

The sounds of shocked surprise filtered through the bunker as everyone marched in masse to the launch room. Another Lifeboat bumped into place beside the one they'd arrived in. Lucy's mouth dropped open as the hatch opened. A man stepped out. He was heavily bearded and extremely well built, with dirty clothes and a stiff posture. The eyes were all too familiar. It couldn't be. But she'd seen some version of him before. Then she turned her head. A woman emerged from the craft, her short hair and muscles making her look particularly badass. The gun strapped across her shoulders and the ammunition pouch at her waist was truly terrifying. The woman was her. But not any version of her she'd ever seen.

The man spoke in a voice she knew as well as her own. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

She and Wyatt exchanged glances. Then the woman spoke. "You guys want to get Amy back or what?"

 **Author's Note: This is the last chapter. I wasn't expecting to finish this so quickly but here we are. You may notice I have reverted to the canon timeline with some differences. Amy was murdered instead of Rufus. Jessica is Rittenhouse in this version where she wasn't before but she's not pregnant and never pretended to be. The Futures come back to save Amy. This was written before the movie and with the assumption that traveling along your timeline is possible and won't kill you. So bringing Amy back won't require a sacrifice like with Rufus.**

 **I started this story when all the Lyatts were suffering from the extreme angst of Season 2 and wondering if the ship had sunk completely. Now they are married with kids.**

 **I will be updating Rain or Shine next week. I'm nearly finished with the story but it ended up getting much longer and more angsty than I expected. I'm almost through the dark part and on to the happy ending.**


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